


city boy - minsung

by cereal_and_sadness



Category: Stray Kids (Band), TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Small Town, M/M, Small Towns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:21:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 55
Words: 27,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26548183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cereal_and_sadness/pseuds/cereal_and_sadness
Summary: minho moves from a big city to a small town to live with his aunts for a summer. he has no particular interest in being there, until he starts hanging around the annoying neighbour boy.CROSSPOSTED ON WATTPAD @ cereal-and-sadness
Relationships: Bang Chan/Kim Seungmin, Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Yang Jeongin | I.N, Im Nayeon/Yoo Jeongyeon, Lee Felix/Seo Changbin
Comments: 3
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

“I hate it here.” 

“Oh, shut up, Minho. You’ve been here for three hours; you can’t possibly hate it yet.” 

Minho looked up at his aunt’s smiling face and scowled in return. “I don’t know how you live out here,” he said, “It’s hot and it’s humid and there’s bugs and–”

“And it’s peaceful,” Jeongyeon cut in. “I know you’re used to city life, but you’re here now. I promised your parents I’d take good care of you, and I told them I’d keep you happy as best as I could – as difficult as I know that is.” 

The boy’s frown deepened at his aunt’s words. “What would make me  _ happy _ ,” he hissed, “would be going back to New York. The small town life isn’t my style.” 

Jeongyeon scoffed. “Well, that sucks, city boy, because small town life is your life now.” She dusted her hands off on her jeans and said, “If you’re done moping about, how about you go help your aunt Nayeon fix dinner? I’m sure she’d love some company until I get back.” 

With a dramatic groan, Minho followed his aunt to the kitchen and got busy chopping vegetables, scrunching his nose at the sight of the compost bin where he threw food scraps – carrot tops, corn husks, and some potato skins. It was basically a bucket of dirt and rotting vegetables with eggshells and what Minho was convinced was a live earthworm. 

He was not at all ready to live somewhere so uncivilised. 

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Dinner was uneventful, for the most part. Nayeon asked Minho how he was adjusting, to which he simply shrugged and poked his carrots with his fork. He stood to leave but was stopped. 

“Hey, where’s your ‘excuse me’?” Jeongyeon asked. “Were you never taught you have to excuse yourself from dinner if you want to leave early? Where’s your ‘thank you’?” 

It was still only Minho’s first day and he was already sick of living here. “Thank you for dinner, aunt Nayeon,” he grumbled, “Now can I please be excused?” 

Nayeon smiled and nodded, but Jeongyeon called out before he could leave. “You can go once you take the compost out. Big red box out past the garden. Don’t bother the raccoon,” she instructed. “He’s civil, but I think he’s got mange, so don’t touch him. And don’t let him near my raspberries. I keep a broom out in the shed to scare him away, if you need it.” 

Minho nodded and grabbed the compost bin. He heard Nayeon yell through the screen door, “But don’t touch the coffee grounds! Jisung will be here in the morning and he uses the coffee grounds.” 

“Jisung helps us out most days,” Jeongyeon clarified, “He helps us take care of our garden, and we give him some fruit and vegetables, and he comes by for Sunday dinner every week. Such a sweet boy.” She shooed Minho away and returned to her dinner, thanking her wife and praising her cooking. 

  
  



	3. Chapter 3

“Minho, would you bring the coffee filter out to the bin next to the compost?” Nayeon gestured toward the near-empty coffee pot. “Jisung should be by this afternoon. If I catch him at the right time, I’ll introduce you two.” 

The boy tried not to roll his eyes. “Yeah,” he mumbled, “Maybe.” 

Back in New York, Minho never really had to do anything. He didn’t have chores, nor did he have siblings to take care of, so he pretty much did whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. Never once in his life had he been expected to help cook dinner or march a box of rotting vegetable scraps out into the yard. Well, he hadn’t had a yard in New York, but that was beside the point. It was only his second day and already he’d been asked to help prepare dinner, take the compost out, Change a light bulb, feed the dog, and now take the coffee grounds out for this Jisung kid. 

It was very kind of his aunts to take him in. Minho knew that. He just had never experienced their lifestyle before. The sound of honking horns were replaced with those of crickets and cicadas every night. It was over a mile to the nearest public space, which was an attached gas station and convenience store. There was no rush. And all of it made Minho very uncomfortable. He was used to shoving people on the sidewalk and being shoved and no one ever apologising because time was too important. But here, people went for walks – just for the sake of going for a walk. They invited their neighbours over for sweet tea on Thursday afternoons. They said “pardon me” when they stepped behind each other in the grocery store. 

He was more than 1,000 miles from home. He didn’t know anybody but his aunts. And as Minho stared into the box of coffee grounds, he realised he hadn’t expected to miss home so soon, especially knowing what awaited him when he returned. 

  
  



	4. Chapter 4

Nayeon shouted through the screen door, “Minho, baby, come on out and meet the boy I been telling you about!” She stepped back outside and talked to Jisung while they waited for Minho. They were alerted to his presence when they heard the screen door banging against the doorframe as it didn’t latch properly. 

Minho saw his aunt sat on the concrete next to a boy about his age with tanned skin and sun-bleached hair, wearing no shoes. Nayeon smiled when she saw her nephew and patted him on the shoulder. “You two have fun,” she said, “If you come inside in half an hour I’ll have some fruit and  _ maybe _ cookies, if you’re lucky.” 

“Thank you, ma’am,” the new boy said, nodding politely. Once Nayeon was inside, he patted the ground beside him and looked up at Minho. Minho awkwardly sat down and tried to think of something to say, but before he could even open his mouth, he heard a voice teasing him. “So, ‘Minho, baby’,” said the boy, repeating Nayeon’s nickname. “You’re not from around here. What brings you out?” 

Minho sneered. He already didn’t like this boy. “Is everyone around here so nosy?” He spat, “Mind your business. It doesn’t matter why I’m here.” 

“Oh, forgive me for being so rude,” the boy said, rolling his eyes. “My name is Han Jisung. I live just down the street. See, you can see my house across the lake.” He pointed, but Minho was unsure what exactly he was looking for, so he only nodded in response. 

He wasn’t the king of hospitality, but he was no heathen either, so Minho halfheartedly introduced himself. “Lee Minho. I’m from New York.” 

Jisung was preparing a snarky comment for the city boy, but held back when he heard Jeongyeon shouting, “Boys, come in for snacks!” 

“That was early,” Minho muttered. 

“Miss Nayeon is a good cook,” Jisung announced, “And she works fast, too. Always a favourite at the church bake sale, she is.” 

Minho rolled his eyes, not even caring about seeming polite. This boy was annoying, and Minho already knew he’d be seeing far more of Jisung than he’d like. 

  
  



	5. Chapter 5

“Thank you, Miss Nayeon,” Jisung said as Nayeon handed him a plate. 

She smiled and shook her head. “Jisung, honey, how many times I gotta tell you don’t call me ‘Miss Nayeon’? Just call me ‘mama’.” 

Jisung finished chewing his orange slice and corrected himself. “Thanks, Mama Nayeon.” The woman laughed and playfully smacked Jisung with a dish towel. 

Jeongyeon stole a grape from Minho’s plate and observed, “You’re awful quiet, boy. Why don’t you talk to Jisung some more? There’s not many kids around here, but Friday night the church is having a get-together, so Jisung can introduce you to his friends.” 

Jisung nodded and smiled. “You’re gonna love them,” he gushed, “Chan especially. He’s real sweet, you know. Seungmin and his brother are both a bit shy, but they’ll warm up to you eventually. How long are you in town for?” 

Nayeon and Jeongyeon made eye contact nervously. Hesitantly, Jeongyeon explained, “We aren’t sure how long Minho will be staying with us. We’re happy to have him as long as he’d like, but he had to leave New York for a while because–” 

“Sweetheart.” Nayeon cut in abruptly. “How about we let Minho explain whenever he’s ready?” Minho breathed a sigh of relief and avoided Jisung’s curious gaze. 

  
  



	6. Chapter 6

“So, Minho Baby,” Jisung started. 

Minho interrupted him. “Do you have to keep calling me that nickname? It’s annoying.” 

With a sly smile, Jisung plopped down onto the grass next to the boy and shrugged. Minho had been here for a week now, and every day Jisung came over to annoy him and call him by the cute nickname Nayeon had called him when they first met. 

“If you’re gonna call me ‘Minho Baby’ because of Nayeon, I’m gonna have to call you ‘Jisung Honey’ so we’re even,” Minho warned. 

Jisung laughed and fell backwards, laying on the ground and staring at the clouds. He shot back, “I don’t see how that’s a problem,  _ baby _ .” 

Minho sneered. “Okay,  _ honey _ , I don’t see a problem either,” he spoke through gritted teeth. How was it possible for a human being to be as annoying as Jisung was? It had to be some sort of anomaly defying the laws of the universe, because there was no way someone could be as much of a bothersome nuisance naturally. 

Once more, Jisung asked, “Why are you here, city boy?” 

The sun was in his eyes, so he couldn’t see Minho scowling at him as he replied, “Once again, none of your business. Go chop some lumber or fight a bear, if you’re really so desperate to do something. But talking to me about why I’m here is out of the question, so don’t bring it up again.” 

“Whatever,” Jisung mumbled, “I should be getting home for dinner soon anyway. Goodnight, Minho baby.” Minho groaned at the nickname and marched inside as Jisung walked off. 

  
  



	7. Chapter 7

That night, Minho sat awake in bed thinking back on the day’s events. 

Had he been too rude to Jisung? 

Should he have just told him? 

Would Jisung talk to him after that? 

Questions swirled around in his head, keeping him awake. He didn’t understand why he cared so much about what the boy thought of him. Maybe it was because he was the closest thing Minho had to a friend, or because he was the only other kid he had seen since moving in. Regardless of the reason, Minho felt terrible. 

Minho turned to look out the window and decided to get some fresh air. He unlatched the window and climbed out onto the roof. The shingles were rough beneath his feet, but he sat down nonetheless, looking out at the lake and the moon’s reflection in it. 

After a few minutes, Minho noticed the slow-moving water was disturbed by something, and from behind the cattails emerged a small rowboat. Its passenger was standing, pushing the boat with a long, sturdy tree branch. He wore a cap but no shirt despite the chilly night air, and he peered over the edge of his boat before lying down in it where Minho could no longer see what he was doing. Stargazing, he could only assume. 

He decided to do the same. 

Minho had never seen the stars so clearly. New York had far too much air and light pollution, and Minho was lucky to see one star there. But here, he could pick out constellations above him clearly. He could feel the tender touch of the stars and the moon in a way he’d never experienced before. 

Was this what it felt like to really relax? 

  
  



	8. Chapter 8

“Minho, baby, wake up!” Nayeon shouted up the stairs. “Jisung is here to see you!” 

Instantly Minho freaked out. Should he apologise? Was Jisung even upset about it? 

He shouted back down the stairs that he’d be down once he’d gotten ready. He got out of bed, put his glasses on, brushed his teeth, and picked his outfit for the day. The whole process had run seamlessly until he heard his door open. 

In the doorway stood Jisung, looking as embarrassed as Minho felt. Minho freaked out when he saw the boy. His shirt was on but completely unbuttoned, and he tripped over his own feet as he tried to jump into the closet to button up his shirt, hitting the ground hard. Jisung ran over to help him up, and Minho was even more abashed by the fact he’d looked so pathetic Jisung thought he needed to help him. 

Minho didn’t even care about how hard he had hit his head when he fell, all he could focus on was Jisung carefully lifting him off the floor and setting him on the bed. He tried to do the buttons on his shirt, but he misaligned them and had to completely start over. He fumbled through the process nervously, aware of Jisung’s gaze on him the whole time, which made him even clumsier. 

“Do you have to watch me?” He choked out, trying not to cringe himself out of existence. 

Jisung shrugged. “You hit your head, I need to make sure you don’t pass out,” he replied. He scoffed at Minho’s feeble attempt to fix the buttons and took a step forward, pushing Minho’s hands away and buttoning the shirt himself. Minho looked up at him and wished he could disappear somehow. He grew more and more nervous each time Jisung’s cold fingers brushed against his chest. Jisung was close, too close, and Minho didn’t know how to react. He barely knew this boy and was already embarrassing himself in front of him. 

“Thanks.” 

The younger boy straightened Minho’s collar and took a step back, still staring at him. Jisung opened his mouth to speak, and Minho anticipated something rude or embarrassing. This was one of the most humiliating moments Minho had had in his life. 

But the rude comment never came. Instead he heard, “I never knew you wore glasses.” 

  
  



	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i posted the first 4 chapters of this fic and then forgot to post it on ao3 so it's completed on wattpad and i think ill just post the rest of this fic tonight and then however many chapters from the sequel i have prewritten

Minho carefully removed his glasses and set them on his nightstand. “Yeah,” he muttered, “I look stupid with them so I wear contacts most of the time. I didn’t expect you to come upstairs.” 

“Sorry about that…” Jisung wrung his hands together nervously. “I really didn’t mean to scare you. I should’ve knocked. I’m sorry. For, uh, everything.” 

He stepped closer again and gently reached out a hand. He held the side of Minho’s head where he’d hit the floor, running his fingers through the boy’s hair timidly to make sure he wasn’t bleeding. Minho winced at the touch, but knew Jisung wasn’t trying to hurt him, so he tried to hold still. 

“You can breathe, you know,” Jisung said with a slight laugh. 

Minho let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding and looked up at Jisung, who was much closer than he had expected. Minho was sitting on the edge of his bed with Jisung standing between his legs, still playing with Minho’s hair absentmindedly. 

“I’m sorry for being an ass yesterday,” Minho whispered, “I know you just asked an innocent question, and I’m sorry for freaking out so much over it.” 

Jisung smiled. “I’m not upset, but I appreciate your apology.” He moved his hands from Minho’s hair to softly cup his face. “I’m sorry for being so pushy and nosy. I won’t ask again, but if you ever decide you want to tell me, I’m here to listen.” 

Without a second thought, Minho flung his arms around Jisung’s waist and pulled the boy closer, breathing shakily. “Thank you.” 

  
  



	10. Chapter 10

“Am I interrupting something?” 

Minho’s arms fell from Jisung’s waist. “Aunt Nayeon, I—” 

She put up a hand to silence him. “Just don’t do anything weird and I’ll pretend I never saw it. And Jisung, don’t break his heart.” She spun on her heel and left without another word, shutting the door behind her. 

Minho fell backwards onto the bed and groaned, hiding his face in his hands. Jisung chuckled and sat on the bed next to him. “Miss Nayeon thinks I’m a heartbreaker,” Jisung sang, “So be careful, Minho baby.” 

“No need to worry about that,” Minho replied, “Because I’m never giving you my heart, so you don’t even need to be concerned about breaking it. You’re annoying and I don’t like you.” 

Jisung leaned over Minho and pushed his hands off his face, wiggling his eyebrows and smirking. “Oh yeah? Well, that hug and your painfully obvious heart eyes say otherwise,” he teased. 

With a snort, Minho sat up, accidentally bumping heads with Jisung. They both groaned in pain and placed a hand on their head where they’d collided. “The hug was because I was grateful,” Minho grumbled, “So don’t misinterpret it. And I don’t know what you mean by ‘heart eyes’; I was just watching to make sure you weren’t planning on eating me alive. Why were you looking at me like that? Jesus, it made me nervous.” 

“What? Is there something wrong with it? You looked good. Why wouldn’t I have stared?” Jisung casually admitted. 

Minho choked on air. Once he recovered from his coughing fit, he said, “You think I looked good?” He picked up his glasses and held them out toward Jisung. “Maybe you need these more than I do.”

Jisung rolled his eyes. “No, seriously.” He picked up Minho’s glasses and continued, “You’re like, lowkey super ho– dude, you’re blind!” He interrupted himself as he looked through Minho’s glasses. “So you can’t see me at all?” Minho shrugged, so Jisung decided to test his theory. He blew a kiss at Minho and then flipped him off. 

This earned him a kick in the leg. “Not wearing glasses doesn’t mean you look like a video game glitch, it just makes you blurry,” he deadpanned, “And even though you’re blurry, anyone could see you’re flipping the bird– even my blind ass can tell.” 

With a sigh, Jisung passed the glasses back and Minho put them on with a scowl. Jisung chuckled and mumbled, “You’re kind of cute, you know.” Minho kicked him again and knocked him off the edge of the bed. 

  
  



	11. Chapter 11

“All the boys are getting together tonight at the lake,” Jeongyeon announced, “You should go.” Minho shrugged and looked back at his book. “I already told Jisung you’re going, and he’s coming to pick you up, so go get dressed.” 

Of course Jeongyeon said yes without asking her nephew. Minho begrudgingly marched up the stairs and got dressed in pink shorts and a yellow button-down top. He put his contacts in and decided he was ready to go… more or less. 

Jisung once more walked into Minho’s room uninvited, but thankfully Minho was fully clothed this time. He put on Minho’s glasses again and asked, “Since you can see me this time, how do I look? Am I cute?” 

Minho flicked his forehead. “You look like a dweeb.” Jisung pouted and set the glasses back down before ushering Minho down the stairs and out of the house, politely saying goodbye to Minho’s aunts. 

“You look good, Minho, so stop freaking out. I could feel your anxiety from a mile away and it’s killing my vibe,” Jisung joked, watching Minho look around nervously. 

They marched together down the hill and past the woods to the lake, where they could already hear shouting and laughter. Minho looked around to take it all in as Jisung greeted his friends. Suddenly, his view of the lake was obscured by a blond boy with a soft smile. 

The smiling boy held out a hand and politely introduced himself. “My name’s Chan,” he said, “You must be Minho. Jisung told me all about you. How are you adjusting so far?” 

“It’s much quieter than I’m used to, but I guess it’s nice to slow down,” he answered. “And it seems like you guys all have some good friends, so maybe I’ll introduce myself. I don’t know yet, I feel like I’d be intruding…” 

Chan patted Minho on the shoulder. He whispered, “I’ll help you out in advance if you do decide to talk to them.” He pointed at a boy with glasses and red hair sitting in the grass. “That’s Seungmin, and his brother Jeongin is right behind him talking to Hyunjin. Seungmin is the sweetest thing, but he’s a bit shy, so don’t take it personally if he doesn’t talk much.” He pointed at two boys standing waist-deep in the lake, splashing water in each other’s faces. “That’s my brother Felix with the orange hair, and the idiot with him is Changbin.” He looked around and saw no one else. “A few other guys are supposed to show up, but they aren’t here yet. I’ll introduce you whenever they show up, but for now, do you want to sit with me? I’d love to get to know you better.” 

Minho was a bit taken aback by how kind Chan was. Jisung had been so annoying when they met that Minho had assumed Jisung’s friends would be just as bad. But Chan was sweet, and he handed Minho a soda from the cooler, patting the ground next to him. Minho took a seat next to Chan and tried to think of what to say. God, he was awkward. 

“What do you miss most back home, and what’s your favourite thing here so far?” Chan sipped his drink as he waited for an answer. 

Minho thought about it for a moment before responding, “I miss how close I was to everything. I could walk down the street and be wherever I needed to be. But I like it here, too. I’d have to say my favourite thing is… the people.” He nudged Chan’s arm and smiled, earning a brilliant grin in response. 

“I’m really glad you’re here.”

  
  



	12. Chapter 12

“You and Chan seem to be getting along pretty well.” 

Minho jumped in surprise and dropped his drink when Jisung appeared over his shoulder and whispered into his ear. He placed a hand over his heart and said, “God, you scared me. But yeah, he’s really nice. He went to talk to Seungmin for a bit. I think he said they’re gonna go fishing.” 

Jisung smiled and sat down next to Minho. “Then since this spot’s vacant, you get to hang out with me now, Minho baby.” Minho groaned and smacked Jisung’s arm. 

“Don’t call me that here.” 

The younger only smiled wider and teased, “Why do you never call me ‘Jisung honey’ anymore? What about our promise?” 

Before Minho could answer, Jisung was yelling to one of the boys Chan mentioned before. “Come here, cutie!” He gestured for the boy to come closer, and an orange-haired boy lunged at Jisung, landing in his lap as they both laughed. “Felix, this is Minho. He’s new in town.” 

“Nice to meet you, Minho,” Felix said, “I’m sorry your first friend in town was this idiot. You’ve got us now, though. We’ll save you.” 

Jisung feigned hurt and said, “How could you do this to me, Felix? Don’t you love me?” He made kissy faces at Felix and pulled him closer as the younger boy squirmed and tried to pull away, laughing the whole time. 

Minho felt weird watching the scene, as if he was intruding on their moment. He felt uneasy talking to Jisung’s friends for some reason. He felt out of place, and he knew they could all tell he was an outsider. 

  
  



	13. Chapter 13

“Hey, who wants to go swimming?” Someone shouted. A chorus of whoops and hollers rose up from the boys as they started making their way toward the lake. 

Jisung looked over his shoulder at Minho, who sat plucking individual blades of grass and tying knots in them. He rolled his eyes and reached for Minho’s hand. “I’ll pass,” the older said. Jisung groaned and flopped onto the ground next to his friend. 

“You know,” he said, “The guys here are all really nice. They won’t make fun of you or anything, if that’s what you’re worried about.” 

Minho looked at Jisung but didn’t reply. He shrugged and watched people jumping off the dock, seeing who could make the biggest splash. He realised he needed an excuse. “It’s too cold, and I can’t swim with this shirt. Maybe another time,” he mumbled. From behind him, he heard a familiar soft voice. 

“You can wear my shirt,” Chan said, “I don’t think it’s cold at all, and I brought an extra anyway.” He held out a grey t-shirt, and Minho hesitantly took it, awkwardly thanking his new friend. Jisung snorted. 

He smacked Minho’s shoulder and teased, “You’re too scared to swim without a shirt? It’s 70°, Minho baby. You’re not cold. I thought you didn’t care what anyone thought of you.” Minho flicked his forehead and turned away to change into Chan’s shirt. “There’s no reason to be insecure anyway,” Jisung continued, “Trust me, I’ve seen you without a shirt, and you’re hot, and I know that for a fact. Seriously, nobody’s gonna judge you, bro.” 

“Oh God, don’t remind me. If you’re dragging me down to the lake, at least let me pick one thing. I don’t even want to swim, but if I have to, I’m wearing a shirt,” Minho stated firmly. He turned back toward his friends who were waiting for him and felt uneasy under their gazes. Before he could ask why they looked at him so weird, they both tackled him in a hug and started cooing about how cute he looked. Minho was much smaller than Chan, so he looked tiny wearing his shirt, and Chan and Jisung both thought he looked adorable. 

They dragged him down to the lake where everyone else was already having fun swimming. Chan dove off the dock first, then floated on his back in the water, waiting for Jisung and Minho. Jisung shouted as he did a cannonball, making a huge obnoxious splash. 

Minho sat on the edge of the dock with his legs in the water. He looked down and hesitated. He couldn’t see the bottom of the lake, nor could he see anything that was in it. He debated jumping in, but didn’t have a second to think of his decision before something beneath the water grabbed his ankles and yanked him in. 

Minho thrashed around, pulling away from whatever had pulled him into the lake. He punched and kicked blindly under the water, and only came up for air once his ankles were free and he landed a solid kick to whatever it was that had grabbed him. 

Jisung emerged from beneath the surface of the murky water and coughed loudly. He scowled when he heard Chan laughing and then turned toward Minho, who held onto the edge of the dock, looking around frantically. 

“Hey, Minho, are you okay?” Jisung held the dock with his left hand and Minho’s face in his right. The elder finally stopped seeming terrified when he felt Jisung’s hand on his cheek. He met the boy’s eyes and sighed. 

“Yeah, just… freaked out over nothing,” he muttered. “I think I might be done for tonight. I’m gonna go back to the house.” He pulled away from Jisung to lift himself out of the lake and onto the dock, pushing his hair out of his face and taking deep breaths. 

Jisung climbed out of the water very ungracefully, falling back in twice before he managed to find his balance. “I’m gonna come with you,” he said, “You seem kind of shaken up.” 

Minho shook his head. “I wouldn’t want to take you away from your friends. Have fun, and I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

Chan swam up to the dock and held onto its edge, asking, “Are you leaving already? You should stay for s’mores, and you can meet the rest of the guys. I’m sure they’ll love you.” 

“Maybe another time,” Minho responded with a sad smile. “Oh, um, when do you want your shirt back? I’ll wash it first, obviously, but I don’t know how to get it back to you. Can I get your number or something?” 

With a smile, Chan shrugged. “Don’t even worry about it. Keep the shirt; it looks good on you. And Jisung can give you my number. I left my phone at home,” he said. 

He bid Minho and Jisung goodnight as they left. Jisung jumped onto Minho’s back and shouted, “Carry me!” Minho reluctantly did as he was asked, but he complained the entire time about how heavy Jisung was. 

  
  



	14. Chapter 14

Jisung sat on the floor against Minho’s bed and waited for the boy to return. He had gone to wash the clothes they’d worn swimming. He could hear the washing machine rattling down the hall, and he waited for Minho to come back. It should’ve only taken five minutes, but Minho still wasn’t back after 15, and Jisung grew worried. 

He wandered out into the hallway and down the stairs. “Hi, mama Nayeon,” he said, “Do you know where Minho went?” 

She looked around the living room and paused the TV. “Chris stopped by, I think. Pretty sure they’re talking out on the porch, if you’d like to join them,” she answered. Jisung looked down the hall and saw Minho with Chan through the screen door, talking and laughing. 

“Oh. Thank you.” Jisung sighed. “No, I’ll let them talk. But whenever Minho comes back in, can you please remind him I’m waiting for him in his room?” Nayeon nodded and Jisung retreated back up the stairs, slightly dejected. 

After another 20 minutes or so, Minho finally came back. He was smiling wider than Jisung had ever seen, and he fell down onto the carpet next to the boy. 

“Where’d you go?” Jisung asked, trying not to reveal he already knew. 

Minho smiled at the ceiling. “I was with Chan,” he whispered to himself. He suddenly sat up and his smile faded. “Dude, he’s so cool. He’s got it all. He’s kind, he’s talented, he’s super good looking, he’s easy to talk to – like, sir, please save some good qualities for the rest of us.” 

Jisung patted Minho’s shoulder and said, “You’re all those things too, Minho. Don’t compare yourself to Chan, just be you.” 

With a snort, Minho placed both hands on Jisung’s shoulders and looked him dead in the eyes. “I’m not jealous, Jisung honey, I’m gay.” 

  
  



	15. Chapter 15

“You what?” 

Minho suddenly panicked and drew his hands away as if he’d been burned. He forgot he wasn’t in New York anymore and people weren’t as chill here. “Don’t tell anybody, please,” he stammered, “And please, please, please don’t hate me. You’re my closest friend. Please.” 

Jisung ran his hand through Minho’s hair gently, and the boy finally began to relax. “Please don’t freak out,” Jisung said, “I don’t mind. My sister has had boyfriends and girlfriends, a couple of my friends have boyfriends, I hang out with your aunts, it’s no big deal. I just wasn’t expecting you to say that, especially not so casually.” He offered Minho a reassuring smile and stood up, stretching before sitting back down on Minho’s bed. Minho joined him, and they kept talking, feeling only slightly awkward. 

“How did you know you were gay?” 

Minho froze. “Uh, I just… knew, I guess,” he replied, “I just liked boys, y’know?” 

Jisung pouted at the dull answer. “Everyone thinks I’m gay,” he stated. “It’s because I apparently have a very flirty personality, and I think I’m just being nice and other people think I’m hitting on them. My friends especially, because I’m even nicer to them.” He looked at the ground and swung his feet like a child, trying to find the right words. “Minho, do you think I’m gay? I don’t know how I’d know.” 

Yikes. How was Minho supposed to answer this question? He didn’t know Jisung all that well, and even then he couldn’t know the boy’s sexuality just from spending time with him. “Have you ever had a boyfriend?” Jisung shook his head. “A girlfriend?” Jisung said no again. “Have you ever kissed a girl?” Jisung scrunched his nose and made an ‘X’ with his arms. “Have you ever kissed a boy?” 

“No,” Jisung mumbled, “But I think I want to. But I don’t know how, and I don’t want things to be weird, you know? I dunno, lately I been thinking about one of my friends kinda weird and I’m not sure what to do with it.” 

“Oooh,” Minho sang, “Jisungie has a crush~ Who is it? Is it someone I know?” 

Jisung chuckled. “Yeah, but you don’t seem like the type who can keep a secret, so all I’m telling you is that you know him.” 

Minho grabbed both of Jisung’s hands and smiled at him. “I can teach you how to get a boyfriend,” he offered, “Or at least how to get with this guy so you can figure out if you really like him or not. You gotta be upfront about that so you don’t break his heart.” 

You could practically see the cogs turning very slowly in Jisung’s brain. “But what are you gonna teach me?” He asked. “Because I’ve already got the flirting stuff down. But… ugh! This guy, I keep thinking about kissing him, but I’ve never kissed anybody so I’m scared I’ll be bad at it and I don’t even know if he likes me!” 

“That can be one of our lessons.” 

Jisung looked up. “What?” 

“That can be one of our lessons,” Minho repeated, “If I’m teaching you how to get a boyfriend, I may as well teach you how to kiss, right? If you’re cool with that, I mean.” 

An odd wave of excitement passed over Jisung. He’d never talked to anyone about this before. “Yeah! Wait,” he said, “Like, now?” 

Minho laughed. “No, stupid. How about this? You have one imaginary coupon that says you can ask me for a kiss anytime, and I’ll do it, no questions asked.” He waved his imaginary coupon in the air and pretended to set it in Jisung’s hand before continuing, “The coupon is only redeemable once, so use it wisely.” 

“I will.”

  
  



	16. Chapter 16

“So, do you like Chan?” 

Minho choked on his tea. Jisung smacked his back as he coughed and tried to regain his breath. “I barely know him,” he wheezed, “How could I like him already? Like, sure, he’s really sweet and he’s stupid good looking but–” 

Jisung snorted. “Simp.” 

“I am not!” Minho smacked his friend’s shoulder and laughed. They sat together on the porch steps drinking tea and making casual conversation. At least, it was casual until Jisung made Minho freak out. 

They sat there shouting and shoving each other off the porch playfully until a voice interrupted their little squabble. 

“Mind if we join you guys?”

It was Chan with the red-haired boy from the lake hiding behind him. Jisung and Minho said they didn’t mind at all, and moved so their friends could sit with them in the shade. 

Even when the group had moved off the steps and onto the porch so they could all face each other, the shy boy hid behind Chan. He buried his face in his friend’s shoulder and peeked out at the other boys every once in a while. Chan repeatedly turned to smile at him and gently stroke his hair. 

“Whipped.” Minho looked to his left and found Jisung right next to his face smirking. He continued, “And I thought you had heart eyes for me. But for Chan… wow. Don’t be so obvious, Minho baby. I said it before and I’ll say it again. Ahem… one moment.  _ Simp _ .”

Minho pinched Jisung’s nose and shook the boy’s head back and forth as Jisung squealed in protest. The other two stopped their quiet conversation to watch and laugh as Jisung decided to retaliate. 

He reached up and pinched Minho’s cheeks, shaking his head the same way Minho was doing to him. They looked absolutely ridiculous, and their friends couldn’t help but laugh hysterically – even the shy boy. 

Jisung froze. “Seungmin, you have the cutest laugh,” he stated, voice nasally as Minho still pinched his nose. 

Seungmin hid his face in Chan’s chest and sighed contentedly when Chan placed a hand on his back to comfort him. 

“He’s right,” Minho piped up, “Your laugh is adorable.” He was surprised when he heard a quiet response from the boy in Chan’s lap. 

His voice was muffled against Chan’s shirt, but Minho understood as he squeaked, “Thank you.” Chan beamed proudly and hugged Seungmin tightly, ruffling the boy’s hair. 

Jisung cooed at the scene. “Don’t worry too much, Minnie. Our new friend is really nice, and I’m sure he’ll love you. How could anybody not love the cutest little puppy in town?” He laughed at himself and gave Seungmin a reassuring smile before turning to face Minho. “Anyway, Chan is Seungmin’s emotional support boy, so they’re pretty much always together. It’s kind of lame, but also kind of sweet.” 

“Hey!” Seungmin’s voice was still timid, but he turned to pout at Jisung. “I’m my own person, thank you very much,” he sassed, “But I do enjoy having my emotional support boy around.” He poked Chan’s dimples and giggled, hugging him again. 

  
  



	17. Chapter 17

Jisung was right: Seungmin was really, really cute. But Minho was a bit disappointed that he didn’t get to talk to Chan much since his attention was primarily on Seungmin. 

He felt rude for even thinking such a thing. He knew Seungmin wasn’t comfortable with new people, but he had made an effort to come see Minho. So he needed someone he trusted to accompany him. No big deal. Whatever worked for him was probably a good thing, Minho was just a bit dejected that Seungmin’s good thing had to be Chan. 

“I am an enormous douchebag,” Minho said into his pillow, barely understandable. 

Jisung didn’t even look up from his crossword puzzle. “Yeah, I know. Why do you mention it?” Minho threw a pen at his head. 

He sighed and lamented, “So, like, I want Chan to pay attention to me, which is already embarrassing enough on its own. And then yesterday he came by with Seungmin and they seemed so close and I hardly even got to talk to him and– ugh! I don’t know. Maybe I’m jealous?” 

With all of his strength, Jisung threw his crossword book at Minho’s face as he once more called his friend a simp. 

Minho snorted and grabbed Jisung’s wrist, dragging him to the bed. “How about you, Mr. ‘Seungmin-has-the-cutest-laugh’?” He teased, “Is that the boy you want to kiss?” He made kissy faces at Jisung and got shoved away. 

“No, it’s not Seungmin,” Jisung said. “Seungmin’s cute, sure, but he’s cute like a puppy or a baby, not cute like ‘bang me mercilessly’, you know?” 

Minho laughed so hard at the comment that he fell to the floor holding his stomach. He tried to talk but just repeatedly wheezed and squeaked as he couldn’t control his laughter. Once he finally recovered, he looked up at his friend and asked, “So this boy you want to kiss… you want him to ‘bang you mercilessly’? I don’t know, Jisung, that sounds kinda gay to me.” 

Jisung picked up a pillow and leapt off the bed, standing above where Minho sat on the floor and whacking him in the face repeatedly with the pillow. “I never said that!” He whined, flopping down on the floor and hitting Minho with the pillow one final time. 

“Sure, you never said that  _ exactly _ ,” Minho sang, “But you also never said that it  _ wasn’t _ what you meant.” 

“You’re honestly too stupid to argue with.” 

  
  



	18. Chapter 18

Minho woke up to a shoe hitting him in the chest, followed by the second shoe hitting his stomach. He sat up and groaned. 

“Why did you do that?” 

Jeongyeon shrugged. “Bought you shoes, had to wake you up. I was being efficient.” She stepped closer to smooth Minho’s messy hair. “I know moving out here hasn’t been easy for you,” she said, sitting on the edge of his bed. “So I’m glad to see you’re adjusting. And it’s a huge relief to see how much time you’ve been spending with Jisung – you both need a good friend.” 

“Jisung has a ton of friends,” Minho mumbled. 

“He needs a  _ good _ friend. Someone like you,” his aunt said. “Oh, I almost forgot! The last Saturday of every month, the church has a dance. Jisung came by this morning and asked you to go with him, and I said yes. I picked your shoes, and Nayeon will help with your outfit.” She patted her nephew’s head and walked out to let him wake up a bit. 

It took probably half an hour for Minho to be 80% awake, and by the time he actually got out of bed it was already 9:30. He wandered downstairs and found his aunts sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and holding hands as they gazed out the window together. Minho smiled. He admired his aunts, and he was very grateful to both of them. Catching them in a peaceful moment was good for Minho – he was reminded that his aunts had chosen to take him in, that he hadn’t been a burden to them. 

“Do either of you want more coffee? I can put another pot on,” Minho offered, breaking the silence. Nayeon turned over her shoulder and smiled, shaking her head. 

“No thank you, sweetheart,” she said, “I don’t need any more coffee. Is there anything you need, Minho? Are you hungry?” 

Minho sat down next to his aunt and sighed. “Thank you, but I’m alright. I appreciate the offer, though. You’re always so nice to me.” 

Jeongyeon chuckled. “Isn’t she the sweetest?” She squeezed her wife’s cheeks between her hands and cooed. “Well, if no one wants breakfast or more coffee, I’ll wash up and you two can go get Minho ready for the dance.” 

Nayeon squealed, clapping her hands excitedly. “You’re going to look so good! You’re gonna outshine all these country bumpkins, aren’t you, city boy?” 

“Hey,” Jeongyeon joked, “ _ We’re _ the country bumpkins, pumpkin. Don’t go and let our little city boy think he doesn’t belong with us.” She smiled warmly as she washed dishes. 

Minho followed Nayeon up the stairs and thought about what Jeongyeon had said. 

She said Minho belonged. 

  
  



	19. Chapter 19

“Okay, wait,” Nayeon said, “Don’t move a muscle – I’m getting my camera. Oh, how sweet! Minho’s first dance.” She ran down the stairs to find her camera, and when she returned, Jisung followed closely behind. 

His jaw dropped when he saw Minho. “Mama Nayeon,” he whispered, “You’re a fashion genius. What’s he look so good for?” 

Jisung wasn’t lying. Minho did look good. He wore ripped black jeans with a cropped yellow hoodie and the red converse Jeongyeon had gotten him. After a moment of surveying the outfit (checking Minho out) Jisung had an idea. 

“Minho,” he started, “Before you say no, just hear me out.” Minho nodded, and Jisung proposed his idea. “Wear your glasses tonight and let me do your hair and makeup. You’re gonna look so fine. I mean, not that you don’t already, it’s just that–” 

“Fine.” Minho sighed, knowing Jisung would annoy him relentlessly if he rejected the idea. Jisung clapped his hands and shoved Minho onto a chair. He left the room and returned a few minutes later with a makeup bag. 

He brought in a second chair, as well, and sat facing Minho. He silently began doing Minho’s makeup, clearly an expert. He was close, so close Minho could see the pink glitter adorning his eyelids and the glossy sheen of his lips. He tried not to focus on the closeness of Jisung’s face. He instead stayed completely still, trying not to mess Jisung up. 

With a few more delicate strokes of the brush across Minho’s nose, cheekbones, and cupid’s bow, Jisung sat back happily and admired his work. “Highlighter done,” he said, “You look pretty. Eyeshadow time! Close your eyes and relax.” He grabbed a second brush and began his work on Minho’s eyes. He did a fairly simple look: standard mascara with a reddish smoky eye to complement the shoes with gold glitter for an extra touch. His hands were gentle as he held Minho’s face still and cleaned up any fallout. 

“I think you’re ready.” He pulled away slightly to admire his work. “I didn’t do any foundation because your skin is perfect, which I’m super jealous of, by the way. And I didn’t do lipstick because once again, perfect. Wow, I did so good. You look pretty!” 

Minho looked at the ground. “You really think so?” Jisung shouted in affirmation, but Minho was still nervous. “What if I’m overdressed?” He asked. “Or underdressed? Or what if people are weird about a boy wearing makeup? Maybe I should just stay home.” 

Jisung smiled softly. “You look perfect. This dance is the one time a month where all the teens in town can do pretty much whatever they want– and nobody judges them for it. My sister went in a prom dress once and nobody had anything to say about it,” he reassured the boy. “And I wear makeup to all the dances, so don’t worry about people judging you for wearing makeup, because you look  _ so _ fine.” 

“Where did you get this makeup from anyway? Is it my aunt’s?” Minho picked up the eyeshadow palette and opened it to stare at all the different shades inside. 

The younger boy laughed. “No, it’s mine. I just keep some of my stuff here.” When Minho gave him a confused look, Jisung explained, “Sometimes I stay here for a while. Weeks at a time, sometimes. I keep some of my stuff here. Your aunts are really good to me. They take me in, you know? I mean, of course you know, they’re doing the exact same thing for you.” 

Minho nodded. “Yeah,” he mumbled, “They’re really great, aren’t they?” 

  
  



	20. Chapter 20

“Let me get a couple pictures of you two together before you run off!” Nayeon shot down the hallway toward the front door, camera in hand. “Aw, my baby’s first dance. Jisung, bring him home in one piece. And if you get back late, feel free to stay over. Just make sure you let your sister know, yeah?” 

Jisung nodded. He grabbed Minho’s hand and ran out the door before Nayeon had a chance to take more photos. 

They trudged through the dewy grass until they hit the main road. Jisung still hadn’t dropped Minho’s hand, but Minho didn’t mind. He was bad with directions and even worse with paying attention, so had Jisung not been holding onto him, he’d probably wander all the way to the Hwang farm without even knowing. 

The walk to the church was peaceful. The sun was low in the sky, but not yet beginning to set, and the whole town was painted in brilliant yellow light. The sunshine reflected off Minho’s makeup, making him look even more ethereal. Jisung spent so much time staring that he almost didn’t see Chan’s truck pull up behind them. 

He leaned over Seungmin to the open passenger side window and shouted, “Hop in the back! I’ll drive you to the church. This is gonna be great!”

Minho and Jisung did as they were told, hopping into the truck bed and taking a seat next to each other. Minho was nervous. Anyone could’ve guessed it. So Jisung took his hand once more and offered a soft smile, which Minho gladly returned. 

“You’re gonna do great.” Jisung squeezed Minho’s hand and leaned close to whisper, “Oh, and if you’re trying to get Chan’s attention tonight, here’s a tip: he’s into dancers. So if you can dance, do it, and make sure he sees you.” 

This was good news for Minho. Dance was his passion, and he knew he was good. There was no doubt about it. Minho suddenly got an idea and turned to Jisung with a mischievous smirk and asked, “Are  _ you _ into dancers?”

“Yeah, why?” 

Minho clapped. “I’m gonna watch for good dancers tonight and try to find that boy you keep talking about kissing,” he said, making kissy faces at Jisung and laughing at himself. 

Jisung rolled his eyes. “I’m gonna regret telling you that,” he grumbled, “But it doesn’t matter. You can guess all you want, I’m gonna say no to everybody. It’s a super secret secret.” 

The truck rolled to a halt in front of the church and Chan turned over his shoulder to yell, “Last stop! All passengers please exit the train!” He hopped out of the car and put on a denim jacket as Seungmin walked around to stand next to him while they waited for their other friends. Minho jumped over the edge of the truck bed and helped Jisung climb out after him, making fun of the boy the entire time. 

“Well, it’s Minho’s first dance,” Jisung announced, “So let’s make sure he has a good time. A night he’ll never forget!” 

  
  



	21. Chapter 21

The four friends walked into the church together, immediately recognising some of their other friends already dancing or talking around the empty chapel. The pews had been moved to line the walls so there was a large, open space for people to dance, and there was a table of snacks and drinks on the far wall by the door. 

Somehow, Minho already felt out of place despite only having been there for a few seconds. This had to be some kind of record.

But his friends didn’t let him be a wallflower. Jisung grabbed his sleeve and dragged him out toward the dance floor. “Come dance with me,” he whined, leaning in close to whisper, “Chan likes dancers, remember?” 

Minho nodded, gesturing for Chan and Seungmin to join them as they made their way to the centre of the room where everyone was dancing. Seungmin held tightly onto Chan’s arm to avoid being separated, and Jisung still hadn’t loosened his grip on Minho’s sleeve. 

For a few minutes, Minho stood swaying slightly as he watched his friends dance. He hadn’t planned on dancing, but then he heard the intro to the next song. BTS Jungkook’s “Begin”. Minho jumped forward into the crowd and began dancing, already having learned the choreography. Halfway through the song, a circle cleared around him and everyone stood in awe as he danced his heart out. Minho was so lost in the music he didn’t notice all the eyes on him. All he could focus on was the song. 

Once the song ended, a roar of cheering and applause rose up from the crowd. Minho opened his eyes and looked around, suddenly embarrassed but still proud. 

He smiled and stepped out of the circle to return to Jisung. They stood on the edge as some random trap song played and people jumped into the circle to show off their moves. Most of Jisung’s friends jumped in, whether seriously or as a joke. Felix and Seungmin went in together, dancing to IOI’s “Very Very Very” despite it not being the song that was playing. 

“You should hop in,” Minho whispered to Jisung, “Show me some moves.” 

Jisung scoffed. “I might’ve done it earlier, but now that I’ve seen you dance, I don’t think I could even try it right now.” He smiled and patted Minho’s shoulder. “You’re way too good.”

Minho rolled his eyes. “Promise me you’ll dance for me sometime, even if it’s not tonight.” He held up a pinky, and Jisung reluctantly made the promise after seeing Minho’s puppy eyes. 

Their little moment was cut short when they heard, “Hey, Minho, you were amazing!” 

  
  



	22. Chapter 22

“Oh! Thanks, Chan.” Minho nervously wrung his hands and smiled at the older boy. 

Chan ruffled Minho’s hair and flashed him a brilliant smile. “You’re seriously talented,” he said, “So I’d better see you dancing in a music video someday or else I’ll have to fight you.” He put his fists up, pretending he was ready to fight, though he was too cute to be convincingly intimidating. 

Suddenly Seungmin appeared behind Chan. He praised Minho’s dancing and politely excused himself to talk to Chan for a bit. 

“Look at you, Mr. Dancer,” Jisung teased, “Getting attention from pretty boys already.” 

Minho rolled his eyes, and Jisung snickered when his point was further proved as Hyunjin walked by and winked at Minho. 

“Hey, Seungmin and I are gonna head out early. Do you two need a ride back to your houses?” 

Jisung and Minho nodded, following Chan out to his truck. “Just Minho’s,” Jisung spoke up. 

They sat together in the truck bed once again, Jisung growing tired and leaning his head on Minho’s shoulder. 

He looked up at his new friend and admired the way his eyes sparkled under the starlight. “Minho, do you think you’ll stay?” 

Minho tensed, and Jisung instantly regretted asking. But before he could apologise, Minho answered him. “I like it here,” he said, “I miss home, though. But I don’t know if I miss it enough to go back. I hate my family, and it’s been nice to get away for a while.” He sighed. “Sorry,” he whispered. “I shouldn’t have said that.” He mentally cursed himself for oversharing. 

With a soft smile, Jisung shook his head. “Don’t apologise.” He held Minho’s hand nervously and looked anywhere but Minho’s face. “I’m always here to listen if you need to talk. That’s what friends are for, right?” 

  
  



	23. Chapter 23

When Jisung and Minho arrived home, Jeongyeon was waiting for them at the kitchen table playing solitaire. Nayeon was asleep on the couch, so Jeongyeon gestured for the boys to be quiet and beckoned them closer. 

“Hey, boys,” she whispered excitedly, “How was it?” 

Jisung beamed. “So great,” he said, “Did you know Minho can dance? He absolutely killed it tonight. Like, wow.” 

Jeongyeon patted Minho’s head. “My little boy is so talented.” She pinched his cheeks and cooed, and Jisung tried to stifle a laugh. “Oh, Jisung, can I ask you to wait for Minho in his room? He has a phone call waiting for him, so he’ll be up once he takes it.” 

The boy nodded and walked up the stairs to Minho’s room. Minho stared at his aunt blankly. “Who called?” 

“Your mom,” Jeongyeon replied. “She said she doesn’t care how late you get home, that you need to call her once you’re here.” 

Minho snorted. “I’ll pick up her call, but if anything goes wrong, I’m hanging up with no hesitation, and if she wants to talk to me again she’ll have to try a little harder than just giving me a secondhand message.” 

He pulled his phone from his pocket and hit the call button on his mom’s contact. He sat on the stairs and waited for an answer. 

A familiar voice crackled through the phone speaker, and Minho wasn’t thrilled to hear it. “What do you want?” He asked. “No, I’m not being rude. I’ve been here for almost a month now and you haven’t called me once. Not to check in, not to say hi to Nayeon and Jeongyeon, and definitely not to hear how things are going.” He scoffed. “Don’t make an excuse. This is about the custody hearing, right? I knew it. I’m not coming back to New York to watch you two fight in court again. I’m over it. Tell dad he can shove his pity party up his ass, and on that note, you can do the same. Stop trying to guilt trip me.” 

Jisung hadn’t intended to eavesdrop, but Minho was in the hallway just outside his bedroom, and Jisung overheard Minho’s end of the conversation. He felt guilty for listening in, but mostly he felt bad for Minho. 

  
  



	24. Chapter 24

Jisung was no good at keeping secrets– at least, most of the time. 

He was too impulsive. He didn’t think before he spoke more often than he did think, and even when he did think he tended to blurt things out unexpectedly. 

This was good and bad. Good because people usually knew exactly what Jisung thought of them. Bad because as soon as Minho walked into his room, Jisung stated, “Your mom sounds like she sucks, bro.”

“Oh…” Minho sat down next to his friend. “You heard my conversation, then?” 

Jisung nodded. “Not on purpose,” he clarified, “But yeah, I heard what you said.” Minho sighed, and Jisung placed a hand on his shoulder. “If you want to talk, I’m here to listen.” 

“Why should I tell you? It’s not important.” 

Jisung propped himself up on his elbows and batted his eyes, trying to be cute. “Because you’re my best friend and you love me?” He smiled brightly when Minho rolled his eyes with a small grin across his lips. 

Minho readjusted so he was lying next to Jisung, and he took a deep breath. “A secret for a secret,” he said, “I tell you something, and you have to tell me something in return.” Jisung nodded, so Minho began. “My parents are finally getting divorced. It’s a huge mess for some reason. Like, you hate each other and you’ve fought every day for as long as I can remember. Why does it have to be so complicated? Seriously, just leave.” 

“They both want full custody?” 

The older boy nodded. “Yeah, but they don’t want to have me around. They both just want to feel like they’re taking something from each other. Like they’re winning.” 

Jisung exhaled shakily. “I don’t know my parents,” he confessed. “Like, I’ve seen photos but I don’t remember them. My sister and I lived with our grandma for most of my life– and it was good right up until the end when she lost her mind before she died.” 

Minho nodded solemnly. “What happened to her? Why’d she lose her mind?” 

“Dementia. She was already a little unstable, not quite crazy, though. But once it hit she became a completely different person. Super paranoid. She forgot who Sooyoung and I were, and she pulled a shotgun on me once,” Jisung whispered, “I’m lucky she forgot to load it. But she trashed the house and killed our animals before she died. She stopped eating, started hallucinating, and spiralled from there. We still don’t have complete walls in any room in the house because she was convinced she had lost something because the ‘rats in the walls’ had stolen it from her and hidden it in the walls, so she broke down a ton of drywall. That’s why we never hang out at my place.”

  
  



	25. Chapter 25

“What happened to your folks, then?” 

Jisung shook his head. “Secret for a secret,” he echoed. “Your turn.” 

He was right, and Minho knew it. So he reluctantly revealed another secret. “I’m kind of a piece of shit back home. Both of my parents use me as leverage against each other, so I may as well give them something to blame each other for, right?” He laughed humorlessly. “They’re both like, ‘Look at what  _ your _ son did! If you had done a better job parenting, he wouldn’t be like this!’” 

“What’s the worst thing you ever did just to piss them off?” Jisung was intrigued. 

Minho waved a hand in disapproval. “Your turn. You gotta answer my question before I answer yours.” 

“Fine,” Jisung huffed. He curled into a ball slightly, a subconscious action Minho noticed but didn’t bother pointing out. “I still don’t know what happened to them. I’ve heard so many different stories, I have no clue which one is true. Mammy said they both left for the war. Sooyoung said they died in a car crash. Chaewon said my parents got busted for drugs and went to jail. Youngjae said my dad killed my mom.” His whole body was tense, and he stared blankly at the wall as he spoke. He flinched, but eventually relaxed when Minho pulled him close and slowly ran his fingers through the small boy’s hair. 

He knew he needed to take Jisung’s mind off of his parents. He felt bad for even asking, so he answered Jisung’s question even though he absolutely detested the subject. “You wanted to know what the worst thing I did was, right?” Minho asked. Jisung nodded against Minho’s chest. “Don’t hate me, yeah? I know it’s bad.”

“Just tell me already,” Jisung whined. 

Minho rolled his eyes even though Jisung couldn’t see him. “I fucked a teacher.” 

“You did  _ what?!” _ Jisung pressed both hands against Minho’s chest and pushed himself away so he could look at Minho’s face. 

There was no hint of humour in his expression. “Several times,” he added. “He was only a few years older than me. He had just started teaching. Funny enough, you have the same surname.” He chuckled, hoping to make the situation less awkward. It didn’t. “He taught my macroeconomics class. He asked me to stay after class one day to review a test I’d failed, and somehow one thing led to another and I ended up sucking his dick and he changed my grade on that test to a ‘B’. Kind of got worse from there, you know, but it’s the reason I passed.” 

Jisung was speechless. He ran through every possible response in his brain, but couldn’t see any of them ending very well. But the silence was suffocating, so he blurted out the first thing he could think of. “I kind of thought you’d be a virgin,” he said, “Not that you couldn’t get laid or anything – you’re super hot. You just don’t seem like the type to do… that sort of thing.” 

  
  



	26. Chapter 26

Minho and Jisung’s little therapy session had brought them closer. Since revealing their family situations, they slowly let each other in more and more. Jisung explained how much he hated being at home, and Minho talked about how his parents couldn’t stand each other. 

“Both parents blame the other for me being gay,” he announced. “My mom’s like, ‘If you had been more present in Minho’s childhood, he would’ve had a male role model,’ and then my dad’s like, ‘If you hadn’t been so soft with him he wouldn’t be a pansy. You treated him like a girl.’” 

Jisung nodded. “I think I hate your parents.” He smiled and leaned his head on Minho’s shoulder. “I think I hate mine, too.” 

This was a touchy subject for Jisung, so Minho was grateful the boy trusted him with it. They talked for probably half an hour more before Jeongyeon told them to go outside if they didn’t want to turn into vampires. 

They begrudgingly agreed, lazily making their way outside with no shoes on. Jisung saw something in the water and sprinted down the hill toward the lake. Minho sped after him, and arrived just in time to see Jisung slide in the wet grass and completely eat shit. Minho couldn’t help but laugh at his friend, but gasped when he saw what Jisung had come here for. 

A small rowboat bobbed in the water, slow waves lapping against its sides and pushing it toward the shore. Jisung was beaming. “This is my boat!” He announced. “I guess I forgot to tie it up last night and it drifted over here. Minho, I think it’s destiny.” He winked and cackled at his last statement, beckoning Minho closer as he grabbed the tree branch he used as a paddle. 

Minho was nervous. But he was also prideful. So he marched down to the bank and stood beside Jisung’s boat, his bare feet sinking into the mud. Jisung stood on the very edge of his boat and reached out a hand for Minho so he could keep his balance as he climbed into the vessel. Minho took Jisung’s hand and shouted in surprise when Jisung yanked him up onto the boat, pulling so hard he knocked them both over. Jisung groaned as he collided with the boat and Minho landed on top of him. A support beam across the base had hit Jisung’s back when he fell, and he bumped his head on the tackle box, but his pain subsided quickly when he noticed Minho on his chest, looking equally baffled. 

Jisung couldn’t help but laugh. He and Minho were so close and in such a stupid situation. Minho was still frozen, staring at the boy beneath him. “You know, Minho,” Jisung joked, “If I didn’t know you were simping for Chan, I might think you were about to kiss me.” 

Immediately Minho’s face flushed and he scrambled to his feet, apologising profusely. Jisung simply chuckled and used the branch to push the boat off the bank and into the lake. They drifted in silence, slowly at first until the water was deep enough for Jisung to row without getting tangled in the cattails and reeds. 

His hat reflected the setting sun and Minho couldn’t help but laugh. How could an old bucket hat covered in hooks and lures be so pretty? Even Jisung’s name, stitched sloppily across the brim of the hat, looked good in the early evening light. The boy turned around to face Minho, smiling brightly. 

“Isn’t it pretty, Minho?” He stared at the sunset reflecting on the water, casting shades of pink and orange across the shimmering surface. Minho could only focus on how Jisung’s skin glowed in the sunlight. How his stupid hat somehow was so endearing. How his smile was brighter than the sun behind him. 

“Yeah. Pretty.” 

  
  



	27. Chapter 27

Jisung didn’t look at Minho as he spoke. He was lost in his own little world. “I love coming out here on the lake,” he said, “Especially at night. The stars from here… wow. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing that.” 

Suddenly remembering his first night where he  _ really _ appreciated this place, Minho recalled seeing someone out on a boat, stopping to lie down and watch the stars. He tapped Jisung’s shoulder and watched the sun disappear over the horizon. “Let’s stay out here for a bit. We can lie here and watch the stars together, for real this time.”

“What do you mean, ‘this time’?” Jisung asked. 

Minho chuckled. “I saw you out here one night while I was sitting up on the roof. I saw you stop and just flop onto the floor in your boat. So I quit watching you and watched the stars instead.” He sighed and looked at the sky. Stars were slowly beginning to emerge overhead. 

Both boys lowered themselves to the floor of the boat, lying on their backs side by side. It was a small boat, and having two people in it was cramped, and the support beams on the ground dug into their spines uncomfortably, but they were happy. They were at peace. 

They stared up at the stars. Minho closed his eyes and listened when Jisung began describing constellations and their stories. Jisung’s voice was soft and soothing, and with the help of the mellow waves, he almost lulled Minho to sleep. Key word: almost. Just when Minho was nearly out, Jisung slapped his chest and shouted his name excitedly. 

Minho sat up, bonking his head on the bench, and tried to figure out what Jisung was freaking out about. He looked up and noticed it. The clouds had rolled in and nearly obscured their view of the full moon. But the moon was so bright behind the clouds that they could see a silvery blue shape floating overhead. It was beautiful. Jisung screamed even louder when he noticed a shooting star streaking across the sky. 

“Make a wish, Minho!” He scrambled to his feet and clasped his hands together, closing his eyes and lifting his face toward the moon as he silently made his wish. He sighed happily and opened his eyes as he turned around to see Minho, who was grinning. Jisung’s eyes lit up. “You look happy, Minho! What was your wish?” He never got a response, he just felt a hand on the centre of his chest and then the chilly lake water as he fell backwards into it. 

“That’s revenge,” Minho said as Jisung reemerged. He sat on the side of the boat where he’d pushed his friend, his arms resting on the side as he looked down at Jisung. “I got my wish, finally: vengeance. Do you remember when you grabbed my ankles and yanked me into the lake? I thought I was gonna die.” 

Jisung pouted, floating on his back. “Wasn’t kicking me in the stomach enough revenge?” He rubbed his stomach with one hand and pretended to wince in pain. He laughed at himself and swam back to the boat, holding himself up on the same edge Minho rested on. “Aren’t you gonna help me up, Minho baby?” 

Minho rolled his eyes, but stood and extended a hand nonetheless. Jisung’s hand was cold and wet as he grabbed onto Minho’s wrist, which the elder thought was unpleasant. But he had no idea how unpleasant his next few minutes would be thanks to his friend Jisung. 

Jisung yanked on Minho’s hand, hard. Minho came toppling over the side and into the water just as Jisung had done before. Jisung laughed, but his joy subsided when he realised he couldn’t see Minho anymore. He mentally prepared himself for a prank, but was more than shocked when Minho’s head surfaced briefly and he screamed Jisung’s name before sinking under the dark water again. 

_ Oh no. _ Jisung swam toward the spot he’d just seen Minho and dove down, holding his breath and keeping his eyes open despite the darkness. He felt around blindly with his hands and found nothing. Even though his lungs burned, he swam forward, continuing to swing his arms. His left hand caught in something soft and stringy, and Jisung realised he must be close to the shore by now, assuming it to be moss. But then it hit him: this wasn’t soft moss or the roots of reeds, this was Minho’s hair. Instantly he reached with his right hand and accidentally hit Minho in the back of the head. 

But he managed to pull Minho up. Jisung lay on his back, carrying Minho on his chest as he tried to swim back to their boat. 

  
  



	28. Chapter 28

It took a lot of effort, but he did it. He grabbed onto the edge and held Minho close. Somehow he had to get them both back onto the boat. His solution was less than graceful. He lifted Minho, groaning with the effort, and managed to lay his top half in the boat as his legs were still in the water. Jisung climbed up himself and pulled Minho completely into the boat, lying him on his back. 

“Oh god, oh no,” Jisung muttered, “I– Should I do CPR? God, I–” he forced himself back to the present moment and focused on Minho. He knelt beside the boy and began chest compressions, counting to himself out loud. After 30 compressions, he tilted Minho’s head back slightly and pressed his lips against Minho’s mouth for a rescue breath. He watched Minho’s chest rise and fall, and did a second rescue breath before resuming compressions. He only had to repeat the cycle twice before Minho jolted awake. He was in the middle of a rescue breath when Minho awoke. His whole body heaved with his coughing as he leaned over the side of the boat and coughed up water, nearly throwing up from the force of it. 

Aside from the coughing and bloodshot eyes, Minho seemed to be fine, and Jisung couldn’t have been more grateful. He flung his arms around Minho and tried not to cry as he whispered, “I’m so sorry. I’m glad you’re okay.” 

Minho’s voice was hoarse, and he looked exhausted, but in a very Minho fashion, he made a joke. “Do you know how many injuries could’ve been avoided this summer if I’d just told you I can’t swim? Like, four? I don’t know.” 

Jisung chuckled, a few tears escaping his eyes. Minho held Jisung’s face in his hands and wiped away his tears. “Jisung honey,” he whispered, “Don’t blame yourself for this. This is my fault, so please don’t feel bad.” 

“No,” Jisung responded. “I’m just really happy you’re okay. I was so scared of losing you. It was my fault for pulling you into the lake, and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I never got to tell you I’m sorry. For this and for last time.” 

Minho smiled softly. “Hey, I’m not mad at you. Look at me. I’m not mad.” He ran his fingers through Jisung’s wet hair gently. The situation was heavy, so as always, Minho had something stupid to say, and this time it was, “So did you actually want to save my life, or did you just want an excuse to kiss me?” 

Jisung shrieked, falling backwards in the boat, hitting the ground with a  _ thud _ . “It wasn’t a kiss,” he mumbled, “It was CPR.” Suddenly, he sat up and shouted, “That doesn’t count as a kiss! I still have my kiss coupon! You can’t use this against me. You still owe me a kiss sometime before you leave.” 

  
  



	29. Chapter 29

“I think I almost died last night.” 

Nayeon didn’t look up from her book. “Aw, good for you, baby!” 

Minho frowned. “Did you even hear what I said? I said I almost died last night.” 

His aunt dog-eared her page and moved her glasses from the bridge of her nose to the top of her head. “Nearly everybody here has almost died, whether they know it or not. It’s almost a rite of passage,” Nayeon said. “So I said ‘good for you’ because you almost died but you didn’t.”

“How did you almost die, then?” 

Nayeon thought for a moment. “Couple times. Barn collapsed on me once while I was hiding in the hay bales. If I was anywhere else I would've died, but I was surrounded on all sides.” 

Minho nodded solemnly. “That’s really lucky. What about Jeongyeon?” 

“I’ll let her explain it herself.” She turned over her shoulder and shouted for her wife, who came down the stairs quickly and took a seat. “I told Minho everybody’s almost died,” she explained, “He wants to hear your story.” 

Jeongyeon chuckled, shaking her head. “You ever play chicken, Minho?” He stared blankly, so Jeongyeon assumed not. “We used to play chicken down at the railroad track. You know, you stand on the tracks or right next to them, and you wait for a train to come and you see how close you can let it get before you have to jump to not get hit.” Jeongyeon was clearly nostalgic about the dangerous game. “The track was at the bottom of a hill, and I liked to put things on the track to see them get flattened. And when I played chicken, it was jump straight across in front of the train.” 

“That sounds dangerous,” Minho said, “Don’t people die doing that?” 

His aunts both nodded, and Jeongyeon continued her story. “I was gonna jump straight in front of the train and I was going to see if the train could break a rock I found. The train was coming in fast, and I was running late, so I was sprinting to get in front of it.” She paused. “I jumped. My shirt caught on a tree branch and yanked me back, and my rock fell out of my hand. It rolled down the hill onto the track and got bumped up in the wheels. It shot out on the other side and put a hole in the fence from how fast it was launched.” She made motions with her hands of a rock bouncing around, complete with sound effects. She finished, “So I could’ve died two ways. If I jumped, I would’ve got hit. If I jumped and somehow made it, I’d have got shot in the head with that rock.” 

This was strange. Minho didn’t think people actually did this sort of thing. But it was so casual for his aunts. He wondered if Jisung had a story. Or Chan. Or Seungmin. Or any of the kids. 

“Yeah, I got my life saved by hay, and Jeongyeon got hers saved by a tree,” Nayeon concluded. “How about you, Minho? What happened? What saved you?” 

Minho felt uneasy. His aunts both looked at him expectantly, probably hoping for an interesting story like theirs. “Jisung saved me,” Minho mumbled, looking down at his hands. 

“Say again?” 

Minho sighed and repeated himself louder. “Jisung saved me. If Jisung hadn’t been there, I never would’ve come home.” 

Jeongyeon’s expression softened. “We’re grateful he saved you,” she crooned, “Is it okay if I ask what exactly he saved you  _ from _ ?” 

Yikes. “Drowning.” 

Nayeon jumped in her seat. “Jisung said last summer that he had a bad feeling. Said he knew he needed to learn first aid.” She continued, “So he did odd jobs around town and made himself enough money to go into the city and attend a class for it. He’s certified for CPR.”

“I guess it paid off,” Jeongyeon said, “Because Minho’s still with us. And I couldn’t be happier.” She hugged him and patted his head. 

  
  



	30. Chapter 30

“Hey, Minho, do you want to go into town with us?” Chan asked. He pulled up in his truck with Seungmin riding shotgun and shouted from the window. 

Minho was thrilled. “Yeah,” he replied, “But Jisung’s not here yet.” 

Seungmin and Chan made eye contact for a brief moment before turning back to Minho, who had already spun around to run and find Jisung. 

Fortunately, Jisung hadn’t been far. He was at Nayeon and Jeongyeon’s house, helping them tend to the fruit trees in the yard. Minho shouted for him, waving his arms. 

“Grab your stuff!” He yelled. “And come meet us on the street! I’ll wait for you!” He walked toward the street rather slowly, waiting for Jisung to catch up with him. He knew Jisung ran fast, so he knew he wouldn’t take long. 

After only a minute or so, Minho nearly fell over as Jisung sprinted up and leapt onto Minho’s back, shouting, “Carry me!” When Minho tried to shake him off, Jisung placed his chin on Minho’s shoulder and whined, “But I ran all the way here for you. I’m tired.” 

Minho complied, knowing Jisung was half-right and half-annoying. He carried Jisung the rest of the way to the car and as he lifted him to put him in the truck bed, Chan stopped him. 

“I cleared out the backseat,” he said, “Because technically it’s not legal for you to be in the back. The backseat has seatbelts. Around here, nobody cares, but townies might call the police, and I don’t want to deal with that.”

Jisung and Minho both nodded as Seungmin got out of the truck and leaned his seat forward so they could climb behind it into the cramped backseat. Jisung sat behind Chan and Minho behind Seungmin. 

And then they were off. Chan rolled down the windows and put on the radio, tapping the beat of every song on his steering wheel. His right hand, Minho assumed, was on the gearshift. Jisung could actually see Chan’s hand and not just his arm, so he knew Chan had a hand gently resting on Seungmin’s thigh. 

He decided not to mention it. 

He couldn’t be sure that meant anything, and he’d rather not ruin the trip for Minho. It was a half hour drive into town, and even then there wasn’t much there. An Albertsons, a Walmart, a McDonalds, a few gas stations, a mechanic, and a doctor/dentist/orthodontist hybrid facility all run by one guy. The town wasn’t all that interesting, but this was a fun trip for these kids regardless. 

No one talked much during the drive except to point things out to Minho. 

When they arrived, they decided to go to Walmart and get snacks so they could have a movie night with some of the other guys. 

Minho had never known Walmart could be so much fun. He and Jisung chased each other around, hiding behind rolls of toilet paper and boxes of various foods. Minho didn’t remember the last time he’d laughed like this, if there was a last time at all, but he was grateful for this new unbridled joy. 

It was Minho’s turn to hide, and he had only 30 seconds to do so. He turned the corner to the freezer section at the very back of the store and froze when he saw something at the far end of the aisle. 

He saw Seungmin leaned casually against one of the freezers. And he saw Chan leaning into Seungmin, holding his hip. And then he felt numb. They were kissing. 

  
  



	31. Chapter 31

Jisung ran up behind Minho and grabbed his shoulders. “You call this a hiding spot?” When Minho didn’t respond, Jisung followed his gaze to the end of the aisle. Oh.  _ Oh _ . “Nope, we’re not watching that. You’re not gonna make yourself feel worse by seeing where that goes,” Jisung stated, dragging Minho away. 

“Of course he has a boyfriend,” Minho muttered, sitting on the floor in an aisle full of glass jars and tupperware he’d seen on infomercials. He almost laughed, almost quoted the annoying infomercial announcer, but he didn’t. He knew it would make Jisung laugh. Normally it would make him laugh too. But Chan had a boyfriend this entire time. 

Jisung sat next to Minho and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, pulling him close as he began quietly crying. They sat there for another ten minutes or so before Chan and Seungmin found them. They were holding a basket full of junk food for movie night, but they were shocked to see Minho crying. 

“What happened?!” 

Minho tensed up, so Jisung tried to save him. “We were running around and I accidentally tripped him,” he lied, “I think he sprained his ankle.” Minho looked up at him, confused but grateful. “Come on,” Jisung said, standing up. He offered Minho a hand, and Minho complied well. He stood up as well, only putting weight on one foot as he let Jisung help him up. 

Chan was worried. “Should we take him to the doctor while we’re here?” 

“I’ll fix him up when we get home,” Jisung stated, holding Minho upright. 

“No, I really think we should–” 

Jisung glared at Seungmin. “I  _ said, _ I will fix him up when we get home. I know how to deal with this, so let me.” He turned to Minho and frowned. “You can’t walk on that ankle, Minho baby. I can carry you out to the car.” Chan handed Jisung the keys and got in a checkout line with Seungmin. 

The relief both Minho and Jisung felt once they were finally outside was incredible. Jisung carried Minho on his back to really sell their story, and he unlocked the car and set Minho inside. 

Minho’s eyes welled with tears as Jisung climbed into the seat next to him and shut the door. “No, Minho what happened?” Jisung asked. 

“You keep saving me,” Minho croaked, “You didn’t let me drown, and you didn’t let me break my heart worse than it was. I feel bad, you know? There are better things you can do.” He wiped his eyes and sniffled. “I shouldn’t have even liked Chan. I barely even know him; I’ve only been here for a month or two. And of course he has a boyfriend! I don’t deserve to be sad over it. Please don’t try to help this time, Jisung. I don’t want to waste your time.” 

Jisung brushed Minho’s hair out of his face and whispered, “It’s not a waste of time. Not if it’s you. Never if it’s you.” Before he could say anything more, the car doors opened and their conversation fizzled out as soon as Chan and Seungmin arrived. 

Through the drive home, Chan kept checking in that Minho was okay and didn’t need a doctor, to which Minho always reassured him that Jisung was there and he trusted Jisung. “He always takes good care of me. Jisung’s a good guy,” he said. 

Once they finally got back to where Minho would normally get dropped off, Chan turned and kept driving all the way up the dirt path leading to the house. They stopped and Chan asked Minho to stay for a minute to talk. Jisung knew that was a polite way of telling him to leave so they could talk to Minho alone. 

Jisung waited on the porch as the other three guys sat in the car talking. He saw the door open and ran to it so he could carry Minho inside. 

As he picked Minho up, he saw the boy turn back toward the truck and growl, “Fuck you.” Chan rolled his eyes and turned around to leave. 

  
  



	32. Chapter 32

“So… what did Chan want to talk to you about?” Jisung and Minho sat on Minho’s bed talking, as usual. 

Minho shook his head. “Doesn’t matter,” he replied, “Don’t worry about it.” Jisung scowled. 

He mumbled, “That makes me worry about it even more,” and then covered his face with his hands to ask, “Was it about me?” 

How was Minho supposed to answer this? If he said yes, Jisung would feel bad and would get paranoid about what they’re saying behind his back. If he said no, Jisung would press for information on the actual subject, and Minho would have nothing to give him. 

“They said they’re cancelling movie night because I got hurt,” Minho lied. “So I guess we’re hanging out here tonight.” 

Jisung smiled. He spent more time here than he spent at his own house and was always glad to be here with such kind people. “I don’t mind,” Jisung said, “I like it here.” 

Minho nodded. “Me too.” Suddenly his face went blank. “We have to tell my aunts about the sprained ankle thing,” he stated, “They need to know so they can play along if anyone comes by. I’m not tryna look ridiculous in front of people, unless it’s you.” 

They walked down the stairs to the kitchen where they saw Minho’s aunts drinking wine and playing a card game. They both set their cards face down on the table when Minho arrived so they could give him their full attention. 

“I need you to help me lie,” Minho bluntly announced. “I embarrassed myself and now there’s a whole story getting me out of it.” He sighed and studied his aunts’ faces, but could not interpret their expressions. “So if anybody asks,” Minho said, “I sprained my ankle and Jisung is taking care of me. If they ask to come see me… actually, that depends on who it is. Hyunjin, yes. Chan, no. Can you please do that for me?” 

Nayeon shook her head and laughed. “You are something else, city boy,” she teased, “But yes. We’ll help you. If anybody comes by I’ll tell them you’re resting to heal your ankle.”

Minho said “thank you” about a thousand times, having not expected them to comply. Jisung dragged him back upstairs, both giddily laughing and shouting. 

Jisung flopped onto the floor, and Minho lay down next to him. He reached into his bag for his phone and googled how long it takes for a sprained ankle to heal. 

“Shortest healing time is a week,” he told Jisung, “So you’re stuck with me avoiding everybody for a week.” 

“I don’t mind.” 

  
  



	33. Chapter 33

Minho didn’t realise how long a week is until he spent an entire week spent in one house, mostly in one room. Jisung stayed over the whole week. Chan stopped by once, and Jisung shut the door in his face. 

When Chan asked why, Jisung answered him through the mail slot. “Minho doesn’t want to see you right now. I don’t know why, but hey, I don’t make the rules around here. Bye!”

That whole week, Minho and Jisung talked for hours each day. By the end of the week, they could probably recite most of each other’s life story by memory. Every waking moment had been spent together, and they’d slept in the same room, too. They were inseparable by this point. 

This was a surprise to their other friends once they started leaving the house again. Considering how much they couldn’t stand each other at the beginning of the summer, no one would’ve guessed they’d end up so close. 

Neither of them had ever had a friend like this before – someone so close they could share practically anything, someone they relied on, someone who understood. With each passing day, Minho felt more and more at home here. It became easier to forget about New York, about his parents. All he had to pay attention to was Jisung and his aunts, and he was perfectly content doing that. 

Minho was still avoiding Chan. He felt like he was being unreasonable, and then he saw Chan and Seungmin at the dance and walked back home without saying hello to anyone. Jisung followed him out, as any supportive friend would, and they walked home together. 

They sat on the roof together, like Minho had the first night he went stargazing. They didn’t look at each other as they talked in hushed voices, as if they were afraid if they spoke too loud the moment would shatter. 

“What’s life like in New York?” 

Minho thought for a moment. “Well,” he said, “It’s busy. It’s loud. People everywhere all the time. The air isn’t this clean. Buildings are tall. No one in the city lives anything like you guys do out here. We live fast.” 

Jisung rolled his eyes. “I meant what’s life like for _ you _ in New York?”

“I just said it.” He looked to see if Jisung laughed, which he didn’t. “Okay, fine. I live in an apartment with my parents. I am an only child. I attend a private school. Let’s see… I have a couple guys I hang out with. I don’t know if I could call them my friends, though.” Minho paused to think of what else he should say. “You already know pretty much everything about me.” 

The air tonight was warm and humid, and it felt like the silence hung heavier in the air than the fog did. “You don’t tell me much about your family,” Jisung said. 

Minho knew he was right. He just hated the subject. “Secret for a secret,” he demanded. Jisung nodded, so Minho began speaking. “My mom is in sales – jewellery, mostly, but sometimes handbags or shoes or whatever else pretentious New York ladies want to wear. My dad is part of a hedge fund. Don’t ask what that is, because I have no idea.” He fidgeted with his hands and continued, “My dad is 14 years older than my mom. They only got married because she was pregnant, and honestly I wish they wouldn’t have. I’d be better off with only one parent than I am with the parents I have.”

“Why’s that?” 

It took a minute or two for Minho to figure out his answer. Was Jisung asking for a list of reasons or one general reason? He settled on a shallow explanation. “They fight all the time. My mom is convinced my dad is cheating on her with his secretary. He is, and he has been for probably six years now, but I’ve never told my mom that because she’d feel even worse. She feels better convincing herself she’s crazy.” He ran a hand through his hair and took a shaky breath, realising he’d never talked about this before. He lived in a ‘children are seen, not heard’ type of household where no one talked about anything. Ever. “They both want me to take their side in court. I don’t want to go to court.” 

Jisung nodded and scooted closer to Minho. The rough roof shingles crunched under his palms, but he didn’t mind much. He brushed the sand and grit off his hands before awkwardly holding one of Minho’s. He didn’t know how to comfort him, but he was trying his best. Minho pulled his hand away from Jisung’s, and Jisung flinched, embarrassed. But then Minho’s arm wrapped around his shoulders. 

This is what they both needed. Somebody who could change their life. 

  
  



	34. Chapter 34

Jisung woke up to the sound of a coat unzipping. He was still tired and comfortable in Minho’s arms, but he was awake enough to know that the woman in front of him was a stranger. 

She removed her coat and draped it over the back of Minho’s chair, then she stared at Jisung and Minho asleep, tangled together. Her hair was long, dark, and perfectly straight. Her red lipstick matched her nail polish. She wore a black dress and a wide-brimmed hat. And not once did she take her eyes off the boys. 

“Minho,” Jisung whispered, poking Minho’s face. “We have a visitor. I think she’s waiting for you because she won’t talk to me.” 

Minho rubbed his eyes as he woke up. He sat up, taking Jisung with him. He shivered from the cold morning air. He had slept without a shirt the previous night because it was too hot, but suddenly he was freezing. He held Jisung closer because he was warm and his hoodie was soft, still having not acknowledged the strange woman in his room. 

“Minho,” Jisung repeated. The boy finally opened his eyes and turned to see his visitor. 

He screamed in surprise, fully awake now. Jisung nearly fell off his lap, and he climbed off when Minho tapped his leg frantically. Minho leapt out of bed and searched for a shirt. Once he finally located one, he put it on backwards. 

He chuckled nervously. “Hi, mom.”

Jisung’s eyes widened. He suddenly processed how bad the situation looked. Jisung, wearing Minho’s hoodie, asleep on top of Minho, who didn’t have a shirt on. It looked so much worse than it was, but Jisung doubted Minho’s mother would believe that for even a second. 

“Nice to meet you,” Jisung said, “My name is Han Jisung. I live just down the street.” 

She scoffed. “Minho, is this boy bothering you? Because he’s very obnoxious to me.” 

Minho frowned. “No, Jisung is my best friend,” he stated. “He didn’t do anything to you, so leave him be.” 

“Don’t you want to know why I’m here?” Minho’s mother asked. 

“I’d rather know when you’re leaving,” Minho spat, protectively holding Jisung’s hand behind him so his mother wouldn’t see. 

The aloof woman turned up her nose at her son. “Two days. I’m here today and tomorrow, and we leave the following day.” 

“‘We’?” Jisung squeaked. 

Mrs. Lee smiled. “You didn’t think Minho was staying here forever, did you?”

  
  



	35. Chapter 35

Minho stormed out of the room. His mother shot Jisung a glare before following him out, and Jisung followed at a distance. 

“Did you know she was coming?” Minho pointed to his mother as he stomped into the kitchen to find his aunts. 

Jeongyeon shook her head. “This was a surprise visit,” she answered. 

Of course it was. Minho’s mother never was one for courtesy. Minho shook with anger, knowing well how his mother had treated his aunts in the past. And now she showed up at their home with no warning, demanding a place to stay for a few days while she schemed how best to make her son’s life a living hell. 

Jisung approached nervously and took a seat next to Nayeon. “Thank you for having me,” he whispered, “I assume I should go home while Minho’s mom is here, right?”

Nayeon whispered back, “No, I think you’d better stay. Haeun will be mean, I’m warning you now, but Minho needs you here. I’ll do what I can to protect you both.” 

Haeun rolled her eyes. “So you can be hospitable to this boy but not to your sister? Nayeon, I’m disappointed in you. Mom raised you better than that,” she scolded. 

“Mom raised me to protect the people I care about,” Nayeon hissed, pulling Minho and Jisung close as she took a step toward her wife. 

Her sister shrugged. “Mom did  _ something _ wrong, obviously,” she sneered, “Because if she hadn’t, you’d have a husband and your own kids by now, and you wouldn’t have to steal other people’s children. Now let go of my son.” 

Nayeon opened her mouth to speak, but Minho cut her off. “You don’t get to call me your son when you’ve never acted like my mother,” he spat, “So leave Nayeon alone, because she’s a way better parent than you ever were or will be.” 

This set Haeun off. “I’m calling your father!” She pulled out her phone and ignored Minho’s snarky remark that the phone call would turn into an argument, as always. She stepped outside to make her call, and everyone remaining in the room breathed a sigh of relief. 

“I feel like I’m intruding here,” Jisung admitted, “I definitely don’t belong with Nayeon and Jeongyeon – they’re too good. And I would like to pretend I never met Minho’s mom.”

Minho sat down next to Jisung and squeezed his hand reassuringly. “She’ll be out of your life soon. You just need to survive the next two days without letting her close enough to shove her fake nails in your eyes.” 

Jisung laughed and leaned his head on Minho’s shoulder. Outside, everyone could hear Haeun screaming into the phone, but they ignored it. They knew this was the most peace they’d get for the next two days. 

  
  



	36. Chapter 36

“What do you mean you won’t give me the upstairs guest room?!” 

Jeongyeon shrugged. “Minho’s staying there,” she replied, “And I’m not kicking him out of his room for you when there’s another perfectly fine room you could stay in.” Haeun was fuming, but Jeongyeon didn’t care. She had never gotten along well with Nayeon’s sister, but she had the self control to not throw hands. 

When Nayeon and Jeongyeon first met, Haeun had disapproved greatly. She hated that her sister was dating a woman, and she couldn’t stand the fact that it made Nayeon so happy. Their parents loved Jeongyeon. She was always respectful and helpful, and she never stirred up trouble within a family that wasn’t hers. 

At Nayeon and Jeongyeon’s wedding, Haeun hadn’t shared the same sentiment. She spent the whole time making rude, offhanded comments to Jeongyeon’s parents and siblings. Maybe she was just upset that her parents liked Jeongyeon more than her – but really, who wouldn’t? Jeongyeon was everything Haeun wasn’t: obedient, respectful, kind, hospitable, warm, welcoming, and an infinite number of other great qualities. In short, Jeongyeon was a good person, and she treated Nayeon very well. 

And Haeun hated her for it. 

“Minho’s not your child, Jeongyeon. You don’t have children,” Haeun spat, “So don’t act like he’s above me. I’m your wife’s sister. I am Minho’s mother. Don’t you think I deserve a little more respect than a  _ child _ ?”

Jeongyeon clenched her jaw. “So it’s only okay for you to say Nayeon is my wife when it’s convenient for you,” she calmly stated. “I know Minho isn’t my kid, but that doesn’t mean I won’t treat him just as good as I’d treat my own son. You’re too pressed over a room, Haeun. That’s Minho and Jisung’s room. Nayeon is setting up the guest room for you downstairs.” 

Haeun shrieked, “What do you mean ‘Minho  _ and _ Jisung’s room’?! You’re telling me you let that rube share a room with my son? I know you don’t care, but I do. My son thinks he’s gay, and you seriously let him  _ share a bed _ with  _ another boy _ ?!” 

“That’s not what I meant,” Jeongyeon replied, trying hard to remain poised. “Jisung comes to visit sometimes. He lived with us on and off before Minho got here. He stayed the night last night. It’s not a big deal.” 

“Not a big deal?” Haeun repeated. “Not a big deal?! Do you even hear yourself?!” She shook with anger, and she looked about ready to snap. It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for her. 

Nayeon stepped between her sister and her wife, a blank expression on her face. “Haeun,” she said, “If you’re going to stay in my home, you are going to respect my wife. And you will be cordial to our neighbours. And you’ll apologise to Jeongyeon, Minho, and Jisung.”

“Fine. Jeongyeon, I’m sorry for disrespecting you in your own home. But Nayeon, why should I apologise to Minho and Jisung? I did nothing to them.” 

Minho scoffed. “Nothing?” 

  
  



	37. Chapter 37

“Minho, how long have you been there?” Jeongyeon asked. 

Jisung peeked his head out from behind Minho’s shoulder and mumbled, “Long enough to make me wish Minho could stay.” He sounded defeated, and he wouldn’t look anyone in the eye. He kept his eyes fixed on the pattern on Minho’s shirt and prayed he hadn’t been heard. 

He was lucky today, because the only person who had heard him was Minho, and the statement caused a pang of sadness to resonate through his whole body. He didn’t want to leave. 

“You haven’t said a single nice thing about your boy the entire time you’ve been here,” Nayeon pointed out, “You didn’t ask how he’s been. You didn’t ask if his sprained ankle healed alright. You didn’t ask about his friends. You invalidated something very personal that Minho told you, and you shared it without asking him.” She smiled smugly. “Would you like me to continue? I have plenty more to say.” 

Haeun placed her hands on her hips and tapped her foot impatiently. “I will discuss that with Minho and his father back in New York. Are you ready for the next stop on the guilt trip? Go on ahead, Nayeon, tell me how awful I am.” 

Nayeon knew her sister was being manipulative, and she wasn’t going to give in. “Sure,” she said, “Next stop: Jisung. You showed up and barged into his and Minho’s room without permission. You treat him like he’s bad for Minho, when really they’re best friends. You called him a rube. A  _ rube _ . That is a child, Haeun. Both of them. How can you be so cruel to those kids?” 

Minho and Jisung both stood in shock. Neither of them had ever seen Nayeon so intimidating. She was sweet and docile, very motherly and nurturing. This Nayeon was a surprise, though not an unwelcome one. 

Never in either of their lives had Jisung or Minho been defended like this– at all, let alone by an adult. 

Haeun spent the rest of the day in the downstairs guest room brooding while Minho took a walk with Jisung and Nayeon and Jeongyeon watched  _ Judge Judy _ . 

Her whole childhood, Nayeon had been so weak. And now she thought she was some sort of superhero? Haeun scoffed at the idea. She knew that it didn’t matter what any of them said or thought, because she was Minho’s mother, and she was taking him back to New York. A day early, she decided. 

  
  



	38. Chapter 38

“Are you really gonna go?” 

Minho sighed and held Jisung’s hand tighter. “I don’t have a choice,” he said. 

They both knew he was right. Minho was 17, and therefore not a legal adult. He couldn’t decide for himself because his legal guardian had the authority to make decisions for him. 

Jisung frowned. “Oh.” 

“Hey, look at me.” Minho stopped walking and held Jisung’s face gently with one hand, moving his head upward to look at Minho while he spoke. “I won’t forget you, Jisung. I promise. I’ll still text you and call you every night and you can tell me about the stars. Please, if nothing else, at least tell me about the stars.” 

The moment was heartbreaking for them both, but Jisung smiled nonetheless. “You can’t get rid of me that easily, Minho,” he teased, “I’m not gonna forget you, either. And the stars? I’ll tell you, but I can’t do them justice. You’ll just have to come back and see them yourself.” 

Minho wrapped his arms around Jisung and picked him up, spinning around. Jisung hugged Minho back and laughed as they stood there together in the middle of the field, hugging and spinning like joyful children. 

  
  



	39. Chapter 39

Once again, Minho and Jisung woke up to loud noises in Minho’s room, but this time, it was even louder and far more strange. 

Haeun stood yanking drawers open and flinging clothes from them into an open suitcase on the floor. Her head turned quickly to the left, startling both Minho and Jisung. She smiled. 

“Oh, you’re awake! Both of you, go downstairs and get some breakfast. Minho, I’ll pack your things for you.” 

Minho was baffled. “What’s going on?” 

A drawer clattered to the ground as Haeun stood up straight, dropping everything in her hands. “We’re leaving a day early, Minho. It’ll be nice! We can stop at that noodle restaurant you like in New Jersey!” 

No. He needed another day. “But there’s still so much to do here,” he stammered, “I can’t leave yet! What about my friends? What about Jisung? There’s so much I want to do before summer ends! Give me one day. Just one.” 

Haeun shook her head. “How much can you really do in one day? I mean, really, you’ve seen Jisung every day for almost three months now. Haven’t you had enough of him?” 

“I could never. He’s my best friend, mom. If you won’t give me a day, just give me another hour with him,” Minho pleaded. 

Nayeon walked in just then and looked around in disbelief. Minho’s room looked like it had been completely ransacked. She saw Haeun in the centre of the mess, and a teary-eyed Minho sitting in his bed next to Jisung. “What the hell is going on in here?” She asked. “Minho, you and Jisung go take the compost out for me. I need a minute to talk to your mom.” 

Minho did as he was told, holding Jisung’s hand and leading him out of the room, stepping over the empty drawers and piles of clothing scattered on the floor. They walked silently, never once letting go of each other until they were all the way out a hundred feet past the compost bin. 

They flopped onto the grass and laid side by side staring up at the clouds. “This is nice,” Jisung said, “I’m really gonna miss you, Minho. I know everybody else will, too, but I promise I’ll miss you way more than they do.” 

“I’ll miss you more than I’ll miss everybody else,” Minho responded. “Of course I’ll miss my aunts, but that’s… that’s different.” 

“Different how?” 

Minho covered his eyes with his forearm, shielding himself from the sun. “Because they’re my aunts. I’ll see them at family events – you know, weddings and funerals and whatever. I just know missing you will be different. It’ll hurt more.” 

  
  



	40. Chapter 40

Haeun honked the car horn, startling Minho and Jisung out of their moment. They walked back toward the house slowly, trying to delay their inevitable goodbye. 

When they reached the house, the car was already packed and the engine was on. This was real. It finally hit Minho just how real this goodbye would be. He was going back to New York and leaving Jisung behind. Haeun rolled down a window and shouted for Minho to get in the car. He squeezed Jisung’s hand one final time and opened the passenger side door. 

“Wait, mom,” he said, suddenly stopping. “There’s something I forgot in my room. Jisung, come help me find it!” He sprinted back inside with Jisung hot on his heels. They were up the stairs and in Minho’s room quickly, and they both stood in the doorway and looked around at the emptiness of it. 

Minho’s pictures were gone. His desk, once cluttered with pens and notebooks and drawings, now sat bare and empty against the wall. His bedding was no different, but it seemed empty as well. His stuffed animals no longer sat there on top of the purple comforter. His glasses were no longer on his nightstand. Everything that was Minho had been stripped from the room. 

Jisung sighed. “It’s so… empty,” he muttered. “What did you forget?” 

Minho stepped into the room and shut the door. In an instant, he had Jisung pushed up against it. The younger stood, wide-eyed, staring up at Minho, who inched closer by the second. 

Kissing Minho was nothing like Jisung had expected – and he’d thought about this moment a lot. He had expected Minho to be aggressive and dominating, moving too fast to keep up with. But this kiss was slow and deep. This kiss expressed every unsaid word between them. Minho pressed his lips hard against Jisung’s, but was somehow so gentle in his movement at the same time. 

Jisung loved this. He’d never felt butterflies erupt in his chest like this before. Minho kissed him like he needed it to live, like he thought Jisung might disappear at any moment. 

When they parted, Minho’s face was streaked with tears. He sniffled and said, “You never got to use your free kiss coupon, Jisung. I kept waiting for you to use it, but you never did. I hope you don’t mind I took it from you.” 

“I’d like to think I still have my kiss coupon. Because if I do, I can save it and use it when you come back,” Jisung whispered. 

Minho nodded, still crying, but now with a bright smile on his face. 

“I’ll miss you, Jisung.” 

“I’ll miss you, too, city boy.” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so this is the end of book 1 but im putting both books into one on ao3 they're separate on wp but here i want to keep them together


	41. Chapter 41

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome to book 2! technically its called "rube" but im keeping it as part of city boy to make life easier for me and for you guys :)

Minho stared out the window and replayed the summer in his head. The best moments of his entire life had happened in the town that rolled by outside his car window. He stared at Jisung’s house across the lake, regretful that he never got to see it. He saw the church and the gas station and then Albertsons and Walmart, and then he didn’t recognise anything. 

Summer was gone. He had to go back to New York. But his heart hadn’t followed him home, and he felt empty as he grew further and further from the town he’d learned to love. 

“You know, you can talk to me,” his mother said, “We’ve got another 15 hours in this car, at least, and that’s without breaks.” 

Minho sighed and angled his body away from her, clearly not interested in speaking. 

This was a new kind of lonely. Minho was used to being by himself in a city full of people, but now he’d had a taste of intimacy, of real friendship and closeness. 

He smiled bitterly at the thought. Jisung. Jisung was his first true friend. Minho remembered first meeting the boy, thinking he was repulsively annoying, but spending time with him nonetheless. He remembered slowly growing to appreciate Jisung’s presence. He remembered waking up one day and realising he no longer did anything without his best friend by his side. 

“Best friend…” he whispered the words out loud. They felt strange and foreign on his tongue. Had he ever told Jisung just how much he meant to him? Minho couldn’t remember if he ever called Jisung his best friend, but that’s what he was, no doubt. With nothing but Jisung occupying his mind, Minho drifted off to sleep. 

  
  



	42. Chapter 42

_ They stopped and Chan asked Minho to stay for a minute to talk. Jisung knew that was a polite way of telling him to leave so they could talk to Minho alone.  _

_ “Minho, you know you don’t have to take Jisung with you everywhere, right?” Chan asked. “Like, I get if you feel bad for him – we all do – but you can still have fun this summer. Don’t let him hold you back.”  _

_ Minho blinked slowly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, “I don’t feel bad for Jisung. I wanted him to come with us. Did you guys not have fun? I thought we all had a pretty good time tonight.”  _

_ Seungmin smiled as he faced Minho. “Oh my word! Do you like Jisung?”  _

_ Chan snorted before Minho could answer. “He likes me,” he whispered, “Remember?”  _

_ “Where did you hear that?”  _

_ Both boys in the front seat turned to look at Minho, who looked absolutely mortified. His ears were red, but his face had gone pale. The only person he had told was Jisung. But Jisung wouldn’t do that to him, right?  _

_ Why wouldn’t either of them answer? Minho repeated himself. “I asked you where you heard that from,” he growled. “Who said that? Was it Jisung?”  _

_ The silence in the car was tense, and the feeling only grew when Chan finally spoke up, still not answering Minho’s question. “Why do you hang around Jisung so much? Didn’t he, like, almost kill you?” _

_ “He saved me,” Minho clarified. “I can’t swim, and he helped me. Simple as that. Now where are you hearing all this shit from? Seriously, I want to know.”  _

_ Chan scoffed. “I was there, Minho. I know he’s the reason you fell in the lake. Saved your life, my ass. Are you sure he wanted to save you, or was CPR just an excuse to kiss you?”  _

_ Minho rolled his eyes. “Real original,” he deadpanned. “I already made that joke.”  _

_ “You know he likes you, right?” Everyone turned to look at Seungmin. “What? It’s true. Jisung likes Minho and Minho likes Chan. It’s weird and complicated and I feel bad for you.”  _

_ Tonight had gone wrong in almost every possible way, and it only kept getting worse. Minho mumbled, “Shut up, I don’t want your pity.” He reached for the door handle, but Chan stopped him.  _

_ He held Minho’s wrist and looked into his eyes. “I’m flattered you like me, Minho,” he said, “But it’s not gonna happen. But about Jisung… he likes you, I’m convinced. But he’s weird. You can do better than  _ **_him_ ** _.”  _

_ Minho wrenched his arm away and opened the car door. In an instant, Jisung was there to help him out. He hoisted Minho onto his back, and as they were about to leave, Minho looked at Chan and hissed, “Fuck you.” _

  
  



	43. Chapter 43

“Minho, get up. You won’t see another bathroom for at least three hours.” 

The boy awoke suddenly, jumping in his seat. He sighed thinking back on his dream. It had been a couple weeks since then, but he was still infuriated by what was said to him that night. 

He stepped out of the car and stretched, his joints popping with the movement. He and his mother walked inside the convenience store and Minho searched for snacks while his mother went to the bathroom. 

“Uh-uh,” she said, snatching a packet of gummy bears from Minho’s hand. “This shit’s bad for you. Get something healthy. Low-calorie. You know what, I’ll look. You go use the restroom.” 

Minho did as he was told. As he washed his hands, he caught sight of himself in the mirror. Since when had his skin been so tan? He had never spent as much time outside as he did when he was with Jisung. 

_ Damn it, Jisung _ . No matter what Minho thought about, it always somehow tied back to Jisung. Couldn’t the universe see that he was trying to move on with his life? He was going back to New York, back to his normal life, back to who he was pre-Jisung. 

“Would he still talk to me if he met me in any other context?” Minho asked himself. He stared at his reflection, feeling conflicted. Did he really want to change? His minor existential crisis was interrupted by pounding on the door. 

“What the fuck is taking so long?!” A voice bellowed, “I gotta take a piss!” 

That was Minho’s cue to exit. He dried his hands and left the bathroom in search of his mom. She was at the register, purchasing two bottles of tea, some vegetable chips, and a pack of cigarettes. Minho grimaced. The clean country air had almost made him forget the stench of smoke that lingered around his home. 

But he wasn’t there anymore. He kept having to remind himself that that period of his life was over, whether he liked it or not. 

  
  



	44. Chapter 44

_ 2 new messages from Jisung Honey _

Minho yelped and dropped his phone onto his bed. It had died during the drive, and only now had he gotten to charge it after his lengthy welcome home. He knew the service was bad in Jisung’s area, so he was surprised to see messages from him. Minho had hardly used his phone all summer because of the poor reception. But apparently Jisung didn’t mind it. 

**Jisung Honey:** heyyyy i hope you get home safe!! you can call me whenever you need somebody :) i’m always here for you 

**Jisung Honey:** i went out on the lake this afternoon. wasn’t the same without you TT. haha you spoiled me, city boy 

Tears welled in Minho’s eyes as the gravity of the situation completely floored him. He was a thousand miles from Jisung now. There would be no more late nights stargazing in Jisung’s boat or sleepovers spent cuddled close together or early evening walks at sunset. 

**Minho Baby:** jisung!!! i miss you already 

**Minho Baby:** appreciate the stars a little bit extra tonight for me <3 i can’t see them here 

After a few minutes waiting on a text back, Minho’s phone lit up. 

_ Incoming video call from Jisung Honey _

Once more, Minho fumbled his phone in surprise, but picked it up in time to accept Jisung’s call. 

Jisung’s cell service was less than excellent, so he looked crunchy, but Minho could make out a smile on Jisung’s face as the call connected, and he was thrilled to see it. 

“Hi, Jisung!” Minho shouted, waving at the phone. 

“Hi, baby,” Jisung replied, giggling at Minho’s face on his screen. 

Minho raised an eyebrow. “So we’ve dropped the names, then? I’m just baby now?” He smirked. “Thanks for the update, honey. Or should I say  _ Hannie _ ?” He chuckled. “I bet you didn’t know I was funny, did you?” 

Jisung rolled over in bed and propped the phone up against a pillow. “That’s because you’re not funny,” he deadpanned. 

The elder feigned hurt, flopping back onto his bed and holding a stuffed animal. 

“So how’s New York?” 

Minho groaned. “I want to go back. I miss Nayeon and Jeongyeon and I miss the stars.” 

Jisung pouted. “What about me?” 

“Hmm…” Minho pretended to think for a moment. “Eh, I guess,” he said. After both boys laughed a bit, they fell into a somber silence. “I really do miss you, Jisung,” Minho whispered. “This sucks. God, I miss you so much.” 

This wasn’t normal for Minho, but Jisung wasn’t complaining. It was reassuring to know the feeling was reciprocated. “I miss you too, Minho. I know you  _ just _ left, but I’m already waiting for you to come back.” 

The pair sat in comfortable silence for a bit, just staring at each other’s faces on their screens. Suddenly, Jisung thought of something. 

He asked, “When your mom was throwing all your stuff in the bag, did she get everything? Did you leave anything behind?” 

Minho thought for a moment. He’d unpacked his suitcase as soon as he got a chance to, and he noticed he was missing a few things. “Yeah,” he said, “She didn’t grab a couple shirts and hoodies, and one stuffed animal.” 

“And did you ever get to go to that noodle place she mentioned?” Jisung asked. 

The elder shook his head. “No, we didn’t even stop in New Jersey. She said she wanted to get back to New York as soon as possible so she could talk to my dad,” he answered. “I still don’t know what she wanted to talk to him about, but I assume she’s talking shit about me or Nayeon.” 

Jisung laughed at the thought, but his face fell when he heard shouting from Minho’s end of the call. Minho rolled his eyes, not even surprised by his parents fighting. A glass shattered, and Minho didn’t even flinch. 

He looked over his shoulder and sighed. “I have to go, Jisung,” he said. “I have to clean up just in case one of them comes in here while they’re already pissed, they’ll have one less thing to be mad at me for. Goodnight, honey.” 

“Goodnight, baby.” 

  
  



	45. Chapter 45

Minho scurried around his room cleaning up, moving as quickly and as quietly as he could. 

He picked up a hoodie and flung it towards his laundry hamper, and a folded note fell out of its pocket as it flew across the room. Minho stared at the rest of his unfolded clothes he’d left on the floor when he unpacked and shoved them under the bed. 

The note was on weak paper, like it had been folded and crumpled an innumerable amount of times, or like it had gone through the wash. Minho unfolded it as gently as he could and smoothed it out to read it. 

_ SUMMER BUCKET LIST _

  * _Make friends with Nayeon’s nephew ✓_


  * Find a best friend ✓ 


  * Catch 3 new kinds of fish 


  * Go to every dance 


  * Fix things with old friends :( 



The next section was written in a different colour pen, and it was sloppier, like it had been written in a hurry. 

  * _Stargaze at least 5 times ✓_


  * Take Minho into town ✓ 


  * Find out how to get him to stay 


  * Kiss Minho??? 


  * Tell Minho —



The end of the tenth item on the list had been scribbled over. Minho was dying to know what it said, but he couldn’t read it beneath the dark lines used to scratch out whatever had been written there before. He couldn’t ask Jisung, because that would be weird. Jisung hadn’t realised he left the list in one of Minho’s hoodies. 

Minho smiled to himself reading the list. It was sweet to see Jisung set goals for himself and to achieve so many of them, and Minho was grateful to know that he had been part of that process. He had been number one on the list before Jisung even knew who he was. 

As annoying as Jisung was at first, Minho had grown to enjoy his company. Depend on it, even. He went through the list and tried to mentally relive every item Jisung checked that Minho had been involved in. 

When he hit number nine, he froze, blushing, thinking back on what he’d done immediately before leaving. 

Minho found a pen and left a green check mark next to Jisung’s goal to “Kiss Minho???”. 

He was sure Jisung wouldn’t mind. But at least now he knew Jisung had wanted that goodbye kiss just as much as Minho did. 

  
  



	46. Chapter 46

Minho, luckily, had avoided getting involved in his parents' fight that night. He was quiet enough that they forgot about him, and he kept his lights off after he’d stashed Jisung’s note somewhere safe and gotten ready for bed. 

He lay awake staring at the ceiling, wondering if it would be too soon to message Jisung again. He turned on his phone beneath the blanket and saw the time. 2:38am. If not too soon, it was definitely too late. He opened his notes app and started writing, spewing the thoughts that he would’ve told Jisung had it been a reasonable hour, as if he’d be confident enough to say any of it at all. 

_ jisung- i found your list,, what was that last thing you scribbled over? i hope you don’t mind i checked off #9 for you. do you keep thinking about it or is that just me?? i’d feel kind of stupid if it was just me but it’s cool i don’t want you to feel like you have to think about me yk. i haven’t told anybody i kissed you even though i really really want to. i mean the only person i would trust enough to tell is you and you already know. plus it would be kinda weird if i talked about kissing you,,,, to you?? right? that would probably be weird. idk it’s 3:26am and i can’t stop thinking about it. maybe i shouldn’t have kissed you before i left. not like i regret it or anything it was amazing i just feel bad yk i left and i didn’t even ask you and now i keep thinking about kissing you again and i feel like that’s rude bc like i didn’t ask if i could think of you that way but i can’t stop bc holy shit it was fuckin magic dude anyway yikes lmao time for a nap _

Minho could hardly keep his eyes open as he typed the last line, and eventually he drifted into a dreamless sleep. 

The next morning, the Lee house was sheer chaos. It was Sunday, so Minho hadn’t anticipated being woken up at 6 in the morning to his door flinging open. Yet here he was anyway. 

His mother stood in the doorway, fuming. In one hand, she held up a dainty necklace. 

“Is this yours?” She asked. “Did you bring this back from Nayeon’s?” 

Minho rubbed his eyes and yawned. “Never seen it before,” he mumbled, “It’s pretty, though. I like it.” His door slammed, and he flopped back down beneath the covers as he heard his mom stomping around in the hallway. 

_ 1 new message from Jisung Honey _

**Jisung Honey:** morning minho!! i hope you got some sleep last night and you’re well rested :) also guess what i found 

**Minho Baby:** what did you find 

**Jisung Honey:** [Attachment: 1 image]

**Minho Baby:** is that my hoodie?? 

**Jisung Honey:** yeah!! :D you said you left a couple behind so i went and stole them all to hold them hostage until you come back 

**Jisung Honey:** sorry that sounds weird yikes i just wanted to steal your hoodies again 

**Minho Baby:** oh shit my uwus are spilling everywhere dammit han jisung this is your fault

He didn’t get a response within a few minutes, so he sent Jisung a selfie in response and fell back asleep. 

**Minho Baby:** [Attachment: 2 images]

  
  



	47. Chapter 47

_ 4 new messages from Jisung Honey _

**Jisung Honey:** BABY YOU DIDN’T TELL ME YOU HAD A CAT?!!

**Jisung Honey:** SUCH A PRECIOUS LITTLE BUB WHAT’S YOUR CAT’S NAME

**Jisung Honey:** MR LEE MINHO DON’T FALL BACK ASLEEP THIS IS IMPORTANT I NEED TO KNOW YOUR CAT’S NAME SO I CAN INTRODUCE MYSELF PROPERLY 

**Jisung Honey:** BABY THIS IS URGENT I NEED TO KNOW YOUR CAT’S NAME 

Minho woke up to his phone vibrating repeatedly. He was pissy about having been woken up until he saw who the messages were from. He smiled and chuckled at his phone, rubbing his eyes before texting back. 

**Minho Baby:** oh that’s soonie!! 

**Jisung Honey:** minho we can’t be best friends anymore i’m replacing you with soonie 

**Minho Baby:** don’t choose just yet you have more options 

**Jisung Honey:** MORE OPTIONS???

**Minho Baby:** [Attachment: 3 images]

**Minho Baby:** this is soonie, doongie, and dori. you saw soonie already she’s orange with a white nose and doongie is the one with an orange nose and dori is the one in the sweater 

**Jisung Honey:** can i trade you out for all 3 of them oh my goodness why didn’t you tell me you had 3 precious little babies 

**Minho Baby:** i actually have 4 

**Jisung Honey:** OMG SHOW ME THE 4TH ONE I BET IT’S ADORABLE 

**Minho Baby:** you’re right, he is 

**Minho Baby:** [Attachment: 1 image] 

**Jisung Honey:** you sent the wrong photo 

**Minho Baby:** no i didn’t that’s my baby??

**Jisung Honey:** but that’s me- 

**Minho Baby:** i said what i said

  
  



	48. Chapter 48

“So, Minho,” Jeanine said, “Can I ask you a question, off the record?” Jeanine was Mr. Lee’s lawyer, and she was hell-bent on getting Minho to choose his dad at the custody hearing. Minho nodded suspiciously. “I’m not asking this as your dad’s lawyer, I’m asking as a friend. If you could choose right now, if you were in an ideal world, would you want to live with your dad or your mom?” 

Minho scoffed. “Neither,” he deadpanned. “They’re both fucking crazy. Super immature, constantly fighting over the dumbest things. In an ideal world, I’d live with my aunts.” 

Jeanine removed her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose. With a sigh, she said, “That wasn’t one of the options. The hearing is this afternoon. What’s stopping you from choosing your dad?” 

“I don’t like him.” 

The lawyer grew nervous. She had been promised a very large sum of money if she could convince Minho to choose his dad. “So you’re picking your mom, then?” She timidly asked. 

“No, I don’t like her, either.” 

This was an unfortunate situation, and Jeanine knew Minho, so she knew he’d be even more uncooperative considering the confusing position he’d put her in. “Okay, then why would you choose your aunts in an ideal world?” 

Minho replied, “Because I actually enjoy their company. I liked living with them this summer. And in my ideal world where I go back, I get to see my aunts and Jisung again.” 

Jeanine leaned closer over the table, resting her chin in the palm of her hand. “Who’s Jisung?” Immediately Minho regretted mentioning the boy, knowing he just accidentally prolonged his interrogation. 

“Jisung is my best friend.” Minho tried to be dull and give answers that didn’t invite more questions. “I met him this summer.” 

This was good. Jeanine had leverage now, and Minho knew it. He mentally kicked himself for mentioning Jisung. 

  
  



	49. Chapter 49

“Minho, you love your mom, right?” 

Minho nodded slowly. 

His mother smiled. “Then you’ll choose your mom at the custody hearing today?” She held Minho’s shoulders and stared into his eyes, silently pleading with him to say yes. 

He moved away nervously and let his mother’s hands fall to her sides. “I don’t know who I’m choosing,” he said, “But I certainly don’t enjoy you and dad both sending your lawyers after me this morning.” 

Mrs. Lee sighed in relief. “So Dan did find you. I was worried he wouldn’t get to talk to you in time. Thank God.” 

“Mrs. Lee? Five minutes.” A paralegal stepped into the hall to inform her of the impending shit show that would be the custody argument between Mr. And Mrs. Lee. 

Technically, they weren’t legally divorced yet. Separated, but not divorced. Mrs. Lee decided she’d use that last name as long as she could, just to rub it in her husband’s face. 

Minho and his mom walked into the conference room where a long table was almost completely filled with people. Lawyers, paralegals, law students, social workers, and the judge who had the misfortune of being assigned to today’s disastrous legal proceeding. 

Mrs. Lee sat next to her lawyer and patted the empty seat next to her, beckoning her son to sit with her. Mr. Lee, just across the table, did the exact same thing. Minho ignored them both and sat next to one of the law students who had observed this situation from the beginning. 

She was the only person who was really on Minho’s side. He almost considered her a friend, but he knew she had to be there and wasn’t his friend by choice. Nevertheless, he appreciated her company and enjoyed having someone to talk to who found this process just as tedious and unreasonable as he did. They spoke in hushed whispers until Dan loudly cleared his throat and stood from his seat. 

“Today, I’d like to prove that my client is more fit to raise her child than his father is,” he announced. He went on some long, boring tangent about how Mrs. Lee had a stable source of income and could provide for her son, how she better understood Minho because she was around more in his childhood, and whatever other bullshit propaganda he wanted to use, including the fact that Mr. Lee left for business trips on a fairly regular basis. “Unlike Mr. Lee, my client is consistently physically present and emotionally stable.” 

Minho laughed, and the whole room turned to look at him. He covered his mouth, having not meant to laugh, but calling his mother emotionally stable was so ridiculous he couldn’t help but chortle. 

Jeanine straightened her papers by tapping them on the table and stood. “I can assure you that despite my client’s business trips, he is still more present and competent as a parent than Mrs. Lee,” she declared. “I mean, her own son calls her, and I quote, ‘fucking crazy’ and ‘super immature’. Does that sound like someone fit to raise a child?” 

“You said that was off the record,” Minho cut in, “And since it’s apparently not, at least tell them the truth. I said both of my parents are fucking crazy. Don’t take what I said out of context.” He sat up straight in his chair and looked right at the social worker. “Just in case Jeanine tries to use anything else from our conversation this morning, I’ll give you the truth about what I said. I said both of my parents are fucking crazy and super immature. I said they fight all the time. I said I don’t like either of them. And I said I want to leave New York to live with my aunts in Tennessee.” 

A tense silence fell over the whole room at the boy’s outburst. 

Finally, Jeanine broke the silence. “Your honour, motion to have that statement stricken from the record.” 

The judge scoffed. “This isn’t a trial. I’m just here to oversee a civil dispute so whatever decision is made was witnessed by a judge,” she said, “But let me ask you, why would you want Minho’s statement removed from the record? Did you forget that this whole thing is about  _ him _ choosing which parent to live with?” 

Jeanine sat down, embarrassed. The paralegal in the corner typed away furiously at his computer, keeping track of every word that was said today. And boy, did these people have a lot to say. 

Minho’s father spoke softly, like he was trying to beckon a small, skittish animal. “You know, if you lived with me, I’d let you go see Jisung,” he crooned, “I know how much you miss him. I know you’d love to visit him. Maybe we could even fly him up to New York to see you.” He made a sad face and continued, “I know you haven’t really felt like yourself since you came back home. That you ‘left your heart among the stars’ when you came back after the summer.” 

Minho knew that line. He wrote it. 

“You found my journal?” 

Mrs. Lee scoffed. “It practically found itself,” she said, “Hiding it under your mattress isn’t very creative, Minho.” 

“You  _ both _ read my journal?!” Minho was fuming. “Do you see what I mean? They’re both absolutely nuts! They ransacked my room and took something very important and very personal, and then they both invaded my privacy by reading it. Can I just have one normal day in this house? One day where you two aren’t screaming or throwing things or stealing my shit?! Seriously, is one day too much to ask?” 

Minho didn’t let either of them respond. He stood and walked out without another word. 

  
  



	50. Chapter 50

_ Calling Jisung Honey _

“Hi, baby! How are you?” Jisung chirped.

“…Jisung?” Minho’s voice was small and meek. “Is now an okay time? If not, that’s cool, I was just hoping—” 

Jisung interrupted him. “I always have time for you,” he said, “Talk to me.” 

Minho told him everything, and I mean everything. The interrogations from the lawyers, the actual hearing, his unfortunate frenzy of talking bad about his parents, the stolen journal, the fact that they’d read through said stolen journal, everything. Even Jisung’s list. 

“I thought it was really sweet,” Minho said, sniffling. “So I kept it. I checked something off on your bucket list; I hope you don’t mind. But I wrote a lot about you in my journal, Jisung. Like, a lot. Like, all summer.” He fell silent, and Jisung almost thought the line went dead until he continued, “And I kept your list in the journal. So they’ve seen that, so I’m in deep shit when they come home. I’m so sorry, honey. This is all my fault, and I’m so sorry.” 

The younger boy’s anxiety had spiked because he feared for Minho’s safety. “No, no, why are you sorry?” He whispered, “You haven’t done anything wrong. Your parents are in the wrong for taking your journal. They’re in the wrong for putting so much pressure on you to choose. All you did was your best, baby. None of this is your fault, I promise.” 

Minho began sobbing even harder. “I miss you so much, Jisung,” he wept, “I hate it here so much. I’d rather die than stay here. I hate my parents, and I hate New York. But… I think I love—  _ hey, give that back!”  _

“Minho? Minho?! Baby!” Jisung shouted into the phone. 

Suddenly a low, gravelly voice spoke from Minho’s end of the call. “Bye, Jisung.” He hung up and threw the phone across the room. “I thought I told you not to talk to that boy,” Mr. Lee stated. He stood over his son, who was on the floor cowering in fear as he cried. “I thought I told you to stay away from that faggot!” 

Minho froze. “Wait, but you told me I could go see him…” 

Mr. Lee laughed. “You really believed that? I  _ just _ told you to stay away from him. I only said you could visit so you’d pick me. You don’t need people like  _ that _ in your life.”

A burning anger bubbled in Minho’s chest and he summoned strength he didn’t know he had. “I could give a shit about what you say to me, but leave Jisung out of it,” he growled, “I swear to God if you say one more word ab—” 

Minho was yanked to his feet by his shirt collar and shoved against the wall. “You think you’re some kind of man now?” His father taunted. “What, because you can talk shit and embarrass us in a room full of people and you can defend that little fruit you spent the summer with, you think you’re a man now?” He shoved his son again, harder this time, hitting his head against the wall. “Well, go ahead, Minho. If you’re a man now, go ahead and prove it.” He stared at his son’s face, which was white as a sheet. “That’s what I thought.” 

No. He knew he couldn’t back down. As his father turned to walk out, Minho spit at him. Mr. Lee wiped the side of his face and snarled, “It’s over for you now, boy!” He lunged at his son, who miraculously ducked, and he ran out of the room with his father hot on his heels. 

Minho ran through the apartment, knocking down anything he thought might slow his father down. He sent a lamp clattering to the floor, knocked over a coat rack, tipped an end table, he even flung a set of fireplace pokers to the ground in hopes the noise would alert a neighbour and get them to call the police. 

He wasn’t fast enough. 

His mother stepped out in front of him and blocked his way. He was trapped. Minho was convinced this was how he would die, at the hands of his own parents, the people who were supposed to protect and love him. 

Mr. Lee grabbed his son by the arm and threw him to the ground. Minho screamed in pain and rolled to his left, narrowly avoiding being stomped on. “Stand up, boy,” his father roared. “Go on, stand up.” Minho struggled to his feet, holding his injured arm. As soon as he stood he was knocked back down by one hit to the face, this time hitting his head on the coat rack he’d knocked over. He groaned in pain. “Get up, Minho! Be a man! Unless you want to be Jisung’s ‘baby’ forever. Do what’s right, ‘baby’, stand up and be a man!” Minho sat up and was pushed to the ground once again, his father’s boot on his chest pinning him to the floor. 

“All we ever did was take care of you, Minho,” his mother said, “How can you be so ungrateful for everything your parents have done for you? Don’t you care about us?” 

Minho choked out, “Everything you’ve done for me…” His time was up. He may as well lay it all on the table. “Oh, yeah, I remember now. Thank you for all of the psychological trauma and the unhealthy model of love I’ve grown up with. I’ll probably never be able to love anybody now, because I don’t want to end up like you. Thanks!” 

A sickening  _ crunch _ echoed through the room, followed by a scream. Mr. Lee didn’t step off of his son’s hand after hearing it break, he stood and stared down at the boy. Minho looked pathetic. Broken. Almost pitiable, if he hadn’t deserved everything he got. Minho shrieked in agony as his father leaned his weight onto the foot still crushing his hand. 

_ Knock knock knock. _

  
  



	51. Chapter 51

“NYPD,” a muffled voice said behind the door. Mrs. Lee looked at her husband, and he nodded knowingly. He picked his son up and dragged him into another room, covering his mouth to keep him silent. 

Mrs. Lee opened the door just enough to put her face through to see. “Hi,” she sang, “Is everything alright?” 

The officer peered over her shoulder suspiciously. “We got several calls for noise complaints coming from your apartment,” he explained, “So I have to ask you to quiet—” 

A piercing scream rang through the apartment, and Mrs. Lee’s face fell. From somewhere farther inside, the officer heard someone saying,  _ shut the fuck up.  _

“Ma’am, I’m gonna have to ask you to step aside.” He pushed past Mrs. Lee and marched into the apartment, searching for anyone else who might be there. Just after he called for backup, a dull thud came from his left, so he followed the sound. 

He finally opened the bathroom door and found a horrific sight. A man sat on the floor cradling his unconscious son. The boy had clearly been battered beyond belief. His face was bruised and bleeding and his whole body was littered with injuries. 

This looked bad. Mr. Lee knew it looked bad. “My son was attacked by a gang,” he said, feigning concern, “I need to get him to a hospital.” He wiped away imaginary tears. 

The officer heard sirens outside and was relieved to know backup had arrived. He prayed an ambulance had been called to the scene. “Sir, please step away from your son,” he calmly instructed. “I can get him medical attention, but I need you to let go of him and move back. Can you do that for me?” 

Footsteps approached behind him, and another officer walked in, equally shocked by the sight. The second officer pulled Mr. Lee to his feet while the first carried Minho out of the apartment and into the parking lot. Unfortunately, no ambulance. He’d have to bring this boy to the hospital himself. 

When he arrived at the emergency room, he carried Minho in and asked for help. A nurse took Minho from the officer and into an exam room while another asked for the boy’s information. 

“I don’t know,” the officer said, “I got a call about a noise complaint and found this guy. Looked like his parents beat the shit out of him.” 

The nurse nodded and walked away in search of a way to identify the unconscious boy. Fifteen minutes later, she came back and beckoned for the officer to follow. 

Minho was awake, and he sat on a bed while a doctor shined a bright light into his eyes. “Yeah, definitely concussed,” the doctor concluded. “Tell me, Minho, can you move your neck? Your toes? Tell me if there’s any pain when you move your neck or back.” He watched Minho turn his head and wiggle his toes. As he turned his head the opposite direction, the doctor noticed the back of Minho’s neck was coated in blood. Immediately he was on his feet, examining the wound on Minho’s head. He combed through Minho’s hair with his fingers to find where he was bleeding. 

Minho knew this feeling. When he hit his head while getting ready and Jisung took care of him, he’d done exactly this, only far gentler. 

“Where’s Jisung?” He slurred. No one answered his question, and Minho’s eyes welled with tears as he once again asked for Jisung. 

No one could tell him, because no one knew who Jisung was. They simply asked for Minho’s full name so they could find his emergency contact, and they left him alone with the man who brought him in after they put two stitches in the back of his head. 

“What’s your name, buddy?” The officer asked, taking a seat beside Minho’s bed. 

“I’m Minho. Who are you?” 

The man smiled. “My name is Younghyun,” he said, “I brought you to the hospital tonight. I have a few questions for you, if you feel okay to answer them.” Minho nodded. “Okay, so, how much of tonight do you remember?” 

“Custody hearing, called Jisung, got the shit beat out of me,” he answered, “Eh, it was only a matter of time. Oh, shit. Can you call my social worker, please? Her name is Emily Jung.” 

Younghyun nodded and said, “I’ll ask one of the nurses to contact her once we’re done talking. Now, you mentioned a custody hearing?” 

Minho nodded. “Oh yeah, my parents are finally getting divorced,” he mumbled, clearly a bit out of it. “They both suck. I want to live with my aunts. I want to see Jisung. Can you get me a phone? I need to call him.” 

“Who’s Jisung?” 

Minho began crying out of nowhere. “Jisung,” he wailed. “I want to call Jisung.” 

Just then, a nurse walked by. “Minho,” he said, “We’ll let you call Jisung in the morning. But tonight, we need to fix you up and you need to rest. Your reward for cooperating is calling Jisung, sound good?” Minho beamed. “There’s a PA on her way in; we have to fix your shoulder.” 

Huh. Minho was so caught up in wanting to call his best friend that he’d forgotten his father dislocated his shoulder. 

The PA walked in and adjusted her glasses. “Minho, I’ll cut right to the chase: this will hurt, but we need to do it,” she deadpanned. “And then we have to take x-rays.” 

The rest of the night was painful and tedious, but once it was all over with, Minho had his arm in a sling, three broken fingers with splints, stitches in his head, and a shit ton of pain meds in his system. 

He knew tomorrow he’d get to call Jisung. 

  
  



	52. Chapter 52

Minho woke up to the scent of oranges. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room. In the chair beside his bed sat Jeongyeon, peeling an orange. Once she noticed Minho was awake, she jumped in her seat and put an orange slice in front of Minho’s face. He gladly ate it and smiled weakly at his aunt. 

“I’m sorry you had to come all the way out here,” Minho said. 

Jeongyeon shook her head. “No, it’s no trouble at all. I’m just so happy you’re okay,” she responded. “When Nayeon and I got a call that you were in the hospital, we were so worried. I drove up here as fast as I could. I’m still in my pyjamas!” She waved her arms, showing off her super-fashionable (but not really) sleep attire. 

A nurse walked in to take Minho’s vitals. “Oh, good, you’re awake,” she said, “There’s something waiting for you at the reception desk whenever you’re ready to get it.” 

“I got it,” Jeongyeon said, already on her feet. She came back with a box in her hands and asked the nurse when she could take Minho out of the hospital. 

“Well…” she flipped through the charts and notes in his file. “This afternoon, as long as he stays how he is now. He has no internal bleeding, his shoulder has been fixed, he has a concussion…” she quietly read the list to herself. “Yeah, he’s mostly alright, but he’ll definitely be sore for a while after this. You can expect to be contacted by police sometime after you leave.” 

Minho’s eyes widened. “I get to leave with Jeongyeon? Yes! Wait, what about my parents?” 

Jeongyeon smiled. “Well, Nayeon and I are legally your godparents, and we have temporary custody while your parents are under investigation. I’ve already talked to your social worker, so don’t worry too much.” 

“Under investigation?!” 

“For child abuse,” Jeongyeon clarified, “Four people called the cops last night. Your dad dislocated your shoulder, Minho. Are you bothered that people are looking into it?” 

Minho shook his head frantically. “No, I’m happy about it. I hate my parents.” 

Luckily for Minho, both of them had been at the police station all night, so Jeongyeon had gone back to the apartment to gather Minho’s things to move him back to Nayeon’s place. 

The box made Minho ridiculously happy when he rooted through it. His phone (now cracked from being thrown) was in it, as well as its charger, and his journal had been returned to him. “I stole that from your mom’s purse,” Jeongyeon whispered as she watched Minho gently caress the cover of the book. Among all the important items in the box, this one was what Minho was most grateful for. He opened it and discovered that Jisung’s list was still inside and unharmed. 

“Can I call him?” 

Jeongyeon shook her head. “No, our cell tower got knocked down early this morning,” she said. “I’m just lucky it didn’t fall into the road, or else I wouldn’t have been able to get here. Jisung’s waiting for you at home, so as soon as they discharge you, we can start counting down the time until you see him again.” 

Minho gasped. “What about Soonie, Doongie, and Dori?” 

“Don’t worry, I already thought of that, too. They’re coming with us.” 

Minho squealed in excitement, feeling the happiest he’d been since coming back to New York. “I bet I can convince the doctor to let me out early,” he said with a mischievous smile. 

  
  



	53. Chapter 53

Minho woke up in the car only 15 minutes out from Nayeon and Jeongyeon’s house, and he sat there bouncing in his seat excitedly the entire time. He passed the little landmarks he’d learned about during the summer, and each of them brought him a little bit more joy. 

Finally, the car stopped in front of the house. Minho stepped out and looked around to find Jisung running at him. He ran toward Jisung and jumped on him. He shouted in pain and Jisung instantly let him go, but Minho protested. 

“So my arm hurts,” he said, “Big deal. My heart hurt way more when I left. So don’t worry about my arm, just hug me. I missed you.” 

Jisung stepped behind Minho and wrapped his arms around the boy’s waist, careful not to disturb the arm in the sling. He rested his chin on Minho’s shoulder and hugged him tight. 

A weight lifted off Minho’s shoulders that he didn’t even know was there. And it was all thanks to Nayeon, Jeongyeon, and most importantly Jisung. 

Nayeon ran out of the house shouting, not bothering to shut the screen door as she ran to her nephew. She held his face in both hands, turning his head and looking at the injuries on his face. His eye was swollen, his cheek bruised, and his lip split. “What happened to you, baby?” She asked, gesturing to his face and his arm. 

Minho frowned. “Two stitches in my head, three broken fingers, a concussion, and a dislocated shoulder,” he answered. He knew that wasn’t what Nayeon meant, but he didn’t really feel like talking about it yet, so he didn’t. Everyone was concerned enough without the full story making them feel worse. 

After the mini reunion, Minho and Jisung excused themselves and ran up to Minho’s room. Jeongyeon had offered to bring the cats in so Minho could get some time with Jisung, and both boys were grateful. Jisung carried Minho’s box upstairs for him, and he looked at the stuff inside while they walked. 

“Is this the journal you were telling me about?” He asked. He set the box down on the floor in Minho’s room and they both sat down next to it. 

Minho picked up the journal with his unharmed hand and responded, “Yep, this is the one.” He set it in Jisung’s lap and joked, “This thing almost got me fucking killed.” 

Jisung didn’t find it as funny as Minho did. “Am I allowed to read any of it?” He asked. 

“You just want to know what I wrote about you,” Minho teased. 

“That’s exactly right.” 

Minho chuckled awkwardly. “I mean, I’d let you read a few pages, but probably not all of it. My notes app is way more embarrassing than my journal, though,” he admitted. 

Jisung grinned. “Well, now I want to read that, too!” He laughed for only a second before his mood turned somber. “Hey, uh, I’m really sorry. For getting you into trouble. I didn’t know I left the list in your hoodie, and I didn’t know your dad had the phone when I called you baby.” 

It wasn’t his fault. “No, don’t, honey,” Minho said, gently holding Jisung’s face, “You didn’t get me into trouble. I’m glad you left the list. And I’m not ashamed to be called your baby.” 

They were close, so close Jisung could see the swelling from the cut on Minho’s lip and the yellow edges of the dark ring around his eye, emphasised by his glasses. 

He didn’t think – his body acted before his brain could catch up. He moved closer to Minho and gently kissed the cut on the corner of Minho’s bottom lip, pulling away slowly as he looked up to meet Minho’s eyes. “Either way,” he whispered, “I’m really sorry you got hurt because of me. And I’m glad you’re okay.” 

Minho smiled, butterflies erupting in his chest as he finally realised that his nightmare was over, at least for now. But he didn’t want to think about going back to New York. All he cared about was Jisung. He nervously grabbed Jisung’s hand and mentally battled with himself on whether or not he should kiss Jisung again. He wanted to, but this really didn’t seem like the best time, and he didn’t even know for sure whether Jisung liked him like that. 

There wasn’t enough time to make a decision before a little brown cat sprinted into the room and jumped into Minho’s lap. He pet her gently and said, “This is Dori. Soonie and Doongie must be downstairs.” 

Jisung cooed at the cat. “Can I hold her?” 

Minho hesitated. “She doesn’t really like being held, so if she lets you hold her, great, but if not, just let her go,” he instructed. 

Jisung did as he was told, gently scooping Dori into his arms. She purred, rubbing her face against Jisung’s sweater. “Oh my, I think I’m going to cry,” Jisung whispered, “She’s so sweet. Aren’t you the sweetest little baby ever?” He began baby talking the cat and was so distracted he ignored his best friend. 

Minho pouted. He climbed onto his bed and stared down at Jisung playing with Dori. He almost cooed at the sight before he remembered he was supposed to be sulking. But they were just so cute, Jisung talking in a baby voice and scratching behind Dori’s ears as she snuggled close to him and meowed. Minho snuck a few photos before huffing dramatically and falling back onto the bed. 

“Aww, is Minho jealous his cat likes me more than him?” Jisung teased. 

“No, I’m jealous that you like my cat more than me,” Minho muttered, “Now come take a nap with me before I have to steal you from her.” 

  
  



	54. Chapter 54

Jisung rolled his eyes and set Dori down before sitting on the bed next to Minho. He ran his fingers through Minho’s hair gently and stared down at him, examining the wounds on his face. What had happened to Minho? The words threatened to spill forth at any second, but Jisung knew Minho, and he knew Minho needed time to process things a bit and that he would talk whenever he was ready. 

“Baby, you look terrible,” Jisung whispered, pushing Minho’s hair out of his face. “Once you’re healed, let me make you real pretty again. We can go to the dance together.” 

Minho opened one eye and smiled. “How about I get to do the makeover this time?” He suggested. “I let you do my makeup; it’s only fair if you let me do yours, too.” 

“But you can’t use your right arm,” Jisung protested, “You’re gonna make me look dumb just to make fun of me…” 

The elder chuckled, sitting up. “I will make fun of you, but I won’t let you look stupid. I’m left handed, anyway, didn’t you notice?” 

Jisung shook his head. After several minutes of coaxing, he begrudgingly agreed to let Minho do his makeup. They sat facing each other on the bed with a pile of cosmetics between them. Minho was gentle, and Jisung giggled every once in a while when Minho tickled him with a brush, earning admonishment every time. 

Minho had learned how to do makeup from YouTube videos, which he only developed an interest in when he first got back to New York. He’d never admit it to Jisung, but he had learned just so he could do this someday. 

He painted Jisung’s eyelids a soft, shimmery pink and added glittery highlights and winged eyeliner. Minho was incredibly focused as he added blush and highlighter, and Jisung couldn’t help but stare at Minho, who bit his lip when he concentrated. It was very distracting for Jisung – so much so that he didn’t hear Minho asking what he thought so far. He waved a hand in front of Jisung’s face, holding a compact mirror in it. “Hello,” he sang, “I asked what you think of your makeup so far?” 

Jisung looked at himself and was pleasantly surprised. Minho had made him look really cute, a very soft and innocent makeup look. Jisung looked up and said, “I like it, but it feels like it’s missing something…” 

“Don’t worry,” Minho responded, searching through the pile. “I’m not done yet, I still have to do your lips.” Jisung nodded and watched as Minho looked through different lip colours, swatching them on his wrist. He finally decided on a pink glitter lip gloss and turned it over in his hand a few times, watching it shimmer inside the bottle. With some difficulty, he unscrewed the cap with one hand and swiped the lip gloss across his own lips, laughing when Jisung complained. “Wait your turn,” Minho told him. “I just want to see how it looks.” 

Jisung watched in awe, captivated by how nice Minho looked with glitter in this lighting. “Wow,” he whispered, “It looks really good.” 

Minho smiled brightly. “Okay, your turn. Close your eyes,” he instructed. Jisung did as he was told and waited for Minho to finish doing his makeup. 

His eyes shot open when, instead of the cool lip gloss he’d expected, Jisung felt something warm and soft on his lips instead. 

He was shocked but not disappointed that Minho was kissing him again. Jisung shut his eyes and brought one hand to the back of Minho’s head, pulling him closer. Minho gently licked Jisung’s lower lip, and just as Jisung parted his lips to let Minho in, they were interrupted. 

“Boys!” Nayeon shouted, “Come down for dinner!” 

They pulled away quickly and stared at each other for a moment. Minho wiped some smudged lip gloss off Jisung’s face with his thumb and smiled awkwardly. Without another word, they made their way downstairs to eat. 

  
  



	55. Chapter 55

“Oh, Jisung, you look so nice,” Nayeon said as the boy sat down across from her at the dinner table. Jisung quietly thanked her and stared at his hands in his lap. 

Something was different. Nayeon and Jeongyeon could both sense it, and they looked at each other knowingly, a silent agreement to figure out what had happened since Minho’s arrival only an hour before. 

Jeongyeon cleared her throat and asked, “Who wants to say grace?” 

When no one answered, Jisung hesitantly volunteered. His voice was shaky as he prayed, and he was quiet for most of dinner. 

Once everyone finished eating, Nayeon asked Jisung to help her clean up, and Jeongyeon asked Minho to take a walk with her. 

“So, did something happen?” Nayeon asked, not looking up from the pan she was scrubbing. 

Jisung bit his lip. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mama Nayeon,” he said, “Why do you think something happened?” 

Nayeon rinsed the pan and passed it to Jisung for him to dry. “I’ve known you your whole life, honey. I know when you’ve got something bothering you,” she explained. “I’m just trying to remind you I’m here to listen if you want to talk.” 

Should he tell her? How much should he say? He wasn’t sure what Minho would be comfortable with him sharing. So he lied, “It’s just really weird having Minho back. I’ll have to get used to it again.” 

This was stupid. Nayeon wasn’t an idiot, she knew something had happened. She wiped her hands on her skirt and turned to face Jisung. She inspected his makeup carefully and knew that Minho had done it, because it was so different from Jisung’s normal makeup look. It was pretty nonetheless, and Nayeon smirked as she remembered Minho wearing the same glittery lip gloss as Jisung. “Han Jisung, I know you’re hiding something.” She dramatically looked side to side, as if ensuring there was no one around to hear her whisper, “You can say you kissed him; I already know you did.”

“How?!” 

Nayeon rolled her eyes. “First of all, the way you two look at each other is just… wow, the yearning. You two are pathetic, just say something to him already.” She patted Jisung’s head. “And don’t think we didn’t notice you two with the same lip gloss on.” 

“What do you mean, ‘the way we look at each other’?” Jisung mumbled, “I don’t even think Minho likes me like that.” 

“Did you kiss him first?” 

Jisung answered, “Like, the first time we kissed or just today?” 

Nayeon gasped and shrieked, “You’ve kissed him several times?! I can’t believe I didn’t know. When? Did you kiss him first, or did he kiss you? Today and the first time. I want the tea. Aww, my babies are growing up.” 

“Well, the first time we kissed was right before he left,” Jisung recalled, “Right before he got in the car, we ran back inside and he kissed me goodbye. We never really talked about it, you know? And I guess today  _ technically _ I kissed him first, but I don’t know if that counts because when we kissed, like, for real it was him.” He shook his head and chuckled. “Ah, this is awkward…” 

Wow, this boy was oblivious. How could he be so blind? “So, of the three times you’ve kissed Minho, two of them he kissed you first?” Jisung nodded. “Then how are you gonna stand there and tell me you don’t think he likes you like that? Honey, I think it’s pretty obvious.” 

Jisung wrung his hands. “Maybe it doesn’t mean anything to him,” he whispered, “Maybe he’s just having fun. Maybe he was just bored and I keep him busy.” 

“Don’t tell Minho I told you this, but Jeongyeon said he kept crying in the hospital asking if he could call you.” Nayeon decided to let Jisung know the truth. “The doctor said Minho told them your name before his own. Are you seriously going to fight this? Let him like you, Jisung. I know you’re both scared, but I’ve never seen either of you this happy before.” 

Maybe Nayeon was right. 

Maybe it was time for Jisung to give Minho his heart and trust him not to break it. 

  
  



End file.
